Habitat/Physical Characteristics

  American Woodcock announces its return from wintering grounds in the southern coastal region of the U.S. to Vermont in mid-April with a loud nasal “peent” vocalization most often given from just before dawn to first light and again at dusk to shortly after dark. Its preferred territory is damp, brushy woods with grassy or brushy fields nearby for displaying. The bird is plump with an 18” wingspan, a very long beak and short legs. Its eyes are located high up and far back on the head giving it binocular vision upwards and backwards to be alert for predators while it probes in the mud for earthworms. The bird is cryptically colored brown, gray, and buff-orange and the female is nearly impossible to see when sitting tight on the nest that is a simple scrape on the ground. The female is larger than the male and once mated she builds the nest, incubates the clutch of approximately 4 eggs and raises the young herself. The chicks are dependant on the mother for food for the first three days after leaving the nest and then begin probing the dirt on their own.

Aerial Display

  Woodcock have a flexible tip of the beak and often feeds by sticking the beak into the dirt and walking around in a circle stamping one foot to detect the retracting motion of a disturbed earthworm and then moving toward it using its sense of touch. The male Woodcock competes with neighboring males through an aerial display intended to attract as many females in a given area as possible. After much “peent”ing on the ground the bird takes off skyward and as he climbs his flapping wings push air through the three outer primary feathers which have narrowed tips. The result is a steady high twittering sound as the bird climbs, short bursts of twittering as the bird circles at the top of its climb, and loud and soft twittering and soft chirping as the bird zigzags its way back to the ground in the “falling leaf” pattern to the very spot where it took off. The male will continue to display long after most females have laid eggs. A female may visit four or more singing grounds before nesting.

Wilson's Snipe

  Wilson’s Snipe returns to Vermont from its wintering grounds in the southern half of North America to the northern regions of South America and begins its aerial displays when nighttime temperatures reach 50 degrees in early May. The Wilson’s Snipe is a secretive species that prefers damp, marshy areas with muddy patches for feeding and vegetation that provides some cover. It is also a stocky bird with an 18” wingspan, a very long beak and short legs. It is colored cryptically and in flight it shows a boldly striped back and head and a short orange tail. Snipes mate once each summer. The female incubates the clutch of usually 4 eggs in a nest made of a neatly woven cup of grasses placed on the ground. When the chicks hatch they are covered in downy feathers. The male takes two chicks and the female takes the other two and they go their separate ways for the rest of the summer apparently having no further contact.

Feeding/Song

  Wilson’s Snipe forages by probing its long beak in soil and mud for insects, worms, crustaceans, mollusks and some vegetation and seeds. The bird has a flexible beak and the tips can be opened and closed with no movement at the base of the beak. Sensory pits at the tip of the beak allow the bird to feel its prey deep in the mud. The bird sucks up and swallows food items without lifting its beak out of the mud. The male displays during the day or night by climbing high over an open marshy area and rapidly flapping its wings while descending steeply which forces air past the two stiff outer tail feathers and creates a winnowing sound – “hu-hu-hu-hu-hu-hu-hu-hu-hu”. Other vocalizations are a harsh “tuk-a-tuk-a-tuk-a-tuk-a-tuk”. When startled, the bird gives a raspy “scaipe”.

Classification

  Many field guides for Eastern North America list Wilson’s Snipe as Common Snipe. Recently the Wilson’s Snipe of the New World was recognized as a different species from the Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) of Eurasia. The two snipes look very similar, but differ in the shape, patterning, and usually the number of tail feathers. The Wilson’s Snipe typically has 16 tail feathers whereas the Common Snipe typically has 14. These numbers vary and a Common Snipe may have from 12 to 18 tail feathers. In French, the name is Becassine de Wilson.

- Deborah Benjamin

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This page was last updated on February 18, 2006