I hope you laughed at this birds name. The American Woodcock’s name is BY FAR not the funniest thing about it. Buckle in because you are about to be blown away by this bird. First, I want to point out how American Woodcocks are built. They look like when Medieval artists tried to draw cats but it is vaguely off except for its a bird and its real (I really stretched this analogy…)
They look so goofy in every picture. They are also called timberdoodle or bogsucker, which are somehow even funnier than the name “woodcock”. As if they were not funny enough, woodcocks have the BEST MATING DANCE EVER.
First, as the sun is setting, male American woodcocks will make this little “peent” noise (which is referred to as peenting). Then, he will fly up pretty high, spiraling and peenting, and then just suddenly drops out of the sky. He recovers his flight only a few feet from the ground. Legendary. They are very secretive and elusive, and your best shot at seeing an American Woodcock is catching them doing their dance. You can skip the first 20 seconds or so, but please watch this with sound (you won’t regret it).
DO YOU HEAR THE PEENTS!? Because they fly after the sun sets, it is difficult to capture good video of it (that’s why you have to go to see it in real life! It is magical). Not only do they have an awesome mating dance, but their walk is very funny too. It is just so perfect for them. I highly recommend watching the video below. If you don’t believe me that this is how they move, there are hundreds of videos of them “dancing” and “bobbing” along to music. I love the internet.
Even the chicks are getting groovy! Between their name, their looks, their mating dance, their walk, and their peents… I think the American Woodcock could be the funniest bird (at least in North America). Every time I learn something new about them, there is just another reason to make fun of them (in an endearing and loving way).
Even though their pattern may look easy to spot, their camouflage is actually really impressive. Try to spot one in this picture, and then you will understand why they are so hard to find when they aren’t doing their mating dances.
Things aren’t all sunshine and rainbows for the American Woodcock. Like so many other birds I write about in this blog, the American Woodcock has seen declining populations in recent years. While they are classified as least concern, it is still important to support the development of young forests so that American woodcocks continue to have habitat. Additionally, window strikes take out many woodcocks yearly, and that is why it is so important to have safety measures incorporated into windows to prevent this from happening.
I love the diversity in birds that there is throughout North America. We always hear about only a couple of them but I like reading your blog and learning about different kinds of birds I didn’t even know existed. It’s dance is funny because at first glance and without research I have no clue why it walks like that but its almost like the bird I just constantly ready to party.
These “birds” are so cute. Per usual, I have never heard of them, and I don’t think I’ve seen them before. I’m wondering what part of America they are from? I think that your analogy to the Medieval cat paintings is perfect, by the way. American woodcocks look kind of smushed and disproportionate–it’s so awesome. I really like that you explained the camouflage abilities of these birds by providing a photo where you try to look for them. That proves a point and makes the blog post super engaging. I’ve never been interested in birds, but every time I read this blog, you make it fun and super intriguing.
First of all, the picture of a medieval cat really revived me this morning and was much needed–thank you for that! Also, the American Woodcock is actually such a silly bird. I think they’re really cute to be honest, and I loved seeing their mating dances and fun behavior. I also think that it’s great how you made a point to discuss the declining population of the American Woodcock along with the species’ cute traits. It is super important to protect endangered animals, and I can see how much you care about birds throughout your blog!