Bird of today: American Woodcock 8/27/24

Today, featuring the American Woodcock. This is a small, round shorebird commonly found in the eastern half of Northern America. Their brown, grey and black plumage allows for excellent camouflage within the brushy forested habitats they generally reside in. They are also fittingly named Timberdoodles, Mudbats, Bogsuckers, Night Partridges, and Labrador Twisters.

Woodcocks have a very prominent narrow and prehensile bill, which is one of their main tools that aid them in the search for food. Their eyes -a bit reminiscent of a duck in my opinion- sit far back on their heads, allowing them to watch the sky for danger while probing generally moistened soil with their bills to weed out earthworms. They'll also eat larvae, snails, centipedes, spiders, beetles and ants, as well as the occasional seed. Woodcocks are most active during dawn and dusk.

All this aside, Woodcocks are often recognized by the way they rock (or dance, rather), as they walk, for seemingly no good reason. Some believe this behavior helps them hunt by disturbing earthworms beneath the soil, others believe they do it to communicate a threat, much like a white-tailed deer would flair its tail.

To conclude, here is a two minute video. it brings me immense joy.