Eurasian Woodcock facts

The Eurasian woodcock is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes are set far back on its head to give it 360-degree vision and it probes in the ground for food with its long, sensitive bill, making it vulnerable to cold weather when the ground remains frozen.
When threatened, the female can carry chicks between her legs, in her claws or on her back while flying, though this is rarely witnessed. The head is barred with black, not striped like that of its close relatives, the snipe. The wings are rounded and the base of the bill is flesh-coloured with a dark tip. The legs vary from grey to pinkish. The species is sexually dimorphic, with the male much larger than the female, although the sexes cannot be separated in the field.
Eurasian woodcock are crepuscular and rarely active during the day unless flushed, when they fly off with a whirring wing noise. The flight is somewhat bat-like; woodcock fly fast and directly while migrating or crossing open country, but fly erratically with twisting and fluttering once in woodland. They are usually solitary and migrate singly, but may congregate when weather or geographical conditions force them to do so. They forage in soft soil in thickets, usually well hidden from sight. They mainly eat earthworms, but also insects and their larvae, freshwater molluscs and some plant seeds.