Sometimes performs odd rocking motion while standing; possibly the vibration from this will disturb earthworms into moving; it has been suggested that the woodcock can hear sounds of creatures moving underground. Superbly camouflaged against the leaf litter, the brown-mottled American Woodcock walks slowly along the forest floor, probing the soil with its long bill in search of earthworms. Young in Autumn" The New York Public Library Digital Collections.1843. Eggs. Presumably air rushing between them produces a whistling sound. "American Woodcock, 1. The wings are very rounded, and the outermost wing feathers are attenuated to produce vibratory sounds during flight, apparently at will.

Male 2. The male’s aerial song, a sweet and varied whistling, accompanies his courtship display—a spiraling flight upward to … MLA Format.

Female 3. Superbly camouflaged against the leaf litter, the brown-mottled American Woodcock walks slowly along the forest floor, probing the soil with its long bill in search of earthworms. General Research Division, The New York Public Library.

The female American woodcock (Scolopax, or Philohela, minor) is about 28 cm (11 inches) long, including the bill. Unlike its coastal relatives, this plump little shorebird lives in young forests and shrubby old fields across eastern North America. 4, sometimes 1-3; rarely 5 or more (possibly resulting from more than one female laying in same nest).

Unlike its coastal relatives, this plump little shorebird lives in young forests and shrubby old fields across eastern North America. There is now general agreement that (at least) most of the sound is produced by the three outermost primaries, which are unusually narrow. Her mate is slightly smaller. Immatures and females have slightly broader outer primaries, and presumably make a slightly different sound.