Introductory
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Scolopax minor | American Woodcock 



ABBREVIATION : 
SCMI

COMMON NAMES : 
   American woodcock
   woodcock
   becasse
   wood snipe


TAXONOMY : 
The commonly accepted scientific name for the American woodcock is
Scolopax minor Gmelin.  Until recently the genus was Philohela [1].
There are no subspecies.


ORDER : 
Charadriiformes

CLASS : 
Bird

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
The American woodcock is listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as
a National Species of Special Emphasis [6].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
S. A. Snyder, December 1991


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Snyder, S. A. 1991. Scolopax minor. In: Remainder of Citation

WILDLIFE DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Scolopax minor | American Woodcock 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Breeding range of the American woodcock extends from southern Manitoba
east through Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia and south through the
eastern and central United States into Florida.  Populations extend as
far west as eastern Texas and Oklahoma.  Winter range of the American
woodcock is the southern portion of its breeding range, from southern
Missouri south [2,6,8].  There are two populations of American woodcock:
the Eastern and Central.  Each is distinguished by its own migration
corridor, but some mixing does occur [6].  The Eastern population breeds
in New England and the Canadian Maritime Provinces and winters in the
South Atlantic States.  The Central population breeds in the Great Lake
States and Canada and winters in the Gulf States.


ECOSYSTEMS : 
FRES10 White-red-jack pine
FRES11 Spruce-fir
FRES12 Longleaf-slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly-shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak-pine
FRES15 Oak-hickory
FRES16 Oak-gum-cypress
FRES17 Elm-ash-cottonwood
FRES18 Maple-beech-birch
FRES19 Aspen-birch
FRES23 Fir-spruce
FRES41 Wet grasslands


STATES : 


    
AL
    
AR
    
CT
    
DE
    
FL
    
GA
    
IL
    
IN
    
IA
    
KS


    
KY
    
LA
    
ME
    
MD
    
MA
    
MI
    
MN
    
MS
    
MO
    
NH


    
NJ
    
NM
    
NY
    
NC
    
ND
    
OH
    
OK
    
OR
    
PA
    
RI


    
SC
    
SD
    
TN
    
TX
    
UT
    
VT
    
VA
    
WA
    
WV
    
WI






    
MB
    
NB
    
NF
    
NS
    
ON
    
PE
    
PQ




BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
   14  Great Plains


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K080  Marl - Everglades
   K081  Oak savanna
   K084  Cross Timbers
   K089  Blackbelt
   K090  Live oak - seas oats
   K091  Cypress savanna
   K092  Everglades
   K093  Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
   K099  Maple - basswood forest
   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K101  Elm - ash forest
   K102  Beech - maple forest
   K103  Mixed mesophytic forest
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K106  Northern hardwoods
   K107  Northern hardwoods - fir forest
   K108  Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
   K109  Transition between K104 and K106
   K110  Northeastern oak - pine forest
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest
   K112  Southern mixed forest
   K113  Southern floodplain forest
   K114  Pocosin
   K115  Sand pine scrub
   K116  Subtropical pine forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
     1  Jack pine
     5  Balsam fir
    12  Black spruce
    13  Black spruce - tamarack
    14  Northern pin oak
    15  Red pine
    16  Aspen
    17  Pin cherry
    18  Paper birch
    19  Grey birch - red maple
    20  White pine - northern red oak - red maple
    21  Eastern white pine
    22  White pine - hemlock
    23  Eastern hemlock
    24  Hemlock - yellow birch
    25  Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
    26  Sugar maple - basswood
    27  Sugar maple
    28  Black cherry - maple
    35  Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
    38  Tamarack
    39  Black ash - American elm - red maple
    55  Northern red oak
    60  Beech - sugar maple
    61  River birch - sycamore
    63  Cottonwood
    64  Sassafras - persimmon
    65  Pin oak - sweet gum
    69  Sand pine
    70  Longleaf pine
    71  Longleaf pine - scrub oak
    75  Shortleaf pine
    76  Shortleaf pine - oak
    80  Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
    81  Loblolly pine
    82  Loblolly pine - hardwood
    83  Longleaf pine - slash pine
    84  Slash pine
    85  Slash pine - hardwood
    87  Sweet gum - yellow poplar
    88  Willow oak - water oak - diamondleaf oak
    89  Live oak
    92  Sweetgum - willow oak 
    94  Sycamore - sweetgum - American elm
    95  Black willow
   101  Baldcypress
   105  Tropical hardwoods
   107  White spruce
   108  Red maple
   111  South Florida slash pine


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
American woodcock inhabit both bottomland and upland plant communities.
These include second-growth hardwood forests with aspen (Populus spp.)
or alder (Alnus spp.), oak (Quercus spp;), hickory (Carya spp.), and
maple (Acer spp.).  They also inhabit spruce (Picea spp.)-fir (Abies
spp.)-hardwood forests [9].  Southern pine plantations of loblolly pine
(Pinus taeda), shortleaf pine (P. echinata), and longleaf pine (P.
palustris) also provide habitat for the American woodcock [6].


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

BIOLOGICAL DATA AND HABITAT REQUIREMENTS
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Scolopax minor | American Woodcock 



TIMING OF MAJOR LIFE HISTORY EVENTS : 
Mating season - late February through early May after male courtship
                display in January and February.
Eggs - laid in ground nest shortly after mating; three to five per clutch; 
       incubation is about 20 days.
Maturity - chicks almost fully grown in 28 days; sexually mature in 10
           to 12 months.
Life Expectancy - about 8 years in captivity.
Migration - in spring can begin as early as late February; in
            autumn can begin in September, usually determined
            by the first frost.
[6,16,23,25]


PREFERRED HABITAT : 
American woodcocks are classified as shorebirds and as such tend most
often to frequent mesic woodlands, bottomlands, and wet meadows.  They
also inhabit recently logged or burned areas, agricultural land, and
riparian woodlands [8].  American woodcocks show a high preference for
aspen and alder stands and damp fields with little ground cover.  The
abundance of earthworms, the main staple of woodcock diets, strongly
dictates American woodcock distribution [6].  Although hardwood forest
soils support a greater abundance of earthworms, conifer forests do
support shallow-burrowing worms which woodcocks will pursue,
particularly if ground vegetation is sparse.

American woodcocks nest in a variety of habitats such as open fields,
mixed forests, bushfields, and conifer plantations but appear to prefer
areas with high shrub-stem density [7].  Greg and Hale [13], however,
found that most nests in Wisconsin were located in woodlands dominated
by aspen.

In Nova Scotia, American woodcocks seemed to prefer pastures with woody
vegetation to those without for singing grounds.  Feeding areas with
cover or near forest edges were preferred over large open areas [26].


COVER REQUIREMENTS : 
American woodcocks need only moderate cover.  Because woodcocks probe
through soil for food, ground vegetation in foraging areas must be
sparse [6].  Thick vegetation is more beneficial as hiding cover for
predators than as escape cover for the woodcock.  Open woodlands or
brushy fields that provide patchy cover are used for roosting,
courtship, nesting, and brood rearing.  Open areas with patches of
shrubs are used for singing grounds, where males begin courtship and
claim territories.  These areas must be open enough to enable the birds
to carry-out their flight pattern displays [23].


FOOD HABITS : 
Earthworms (Lumbricus spp.; Aporrectodea spp.; Diplocardia spp.) make up
50 to 90 percent of the American woodcock's diet.  Other food items
include beetles (Coleoptera), flies (Diptera), centipedes (Chilopoda),
butterfly and moth larvae (Lepidoptera), crustaceans, and other insect
larvae [6,8].  Seeds of raspberry and blackberry (Rubus spp.), alder,
elderberry (Sambucus spp.), cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.), dogwood
(Cornus spp.), smartweed (Polygonum spp.), ragweed (Ambrosia spp.),
sedge (Carex spp.), bedstraw (Galium spp.), and other plants are
occasionally eaten [23].


PREDATORS : 
Predators include humans and hawks (Accipitridae) [14].  Although no
specific information on other predators was found, many animals can prey
on woodcock eggs, such as fox (Vulpes vulpes), skunks and weasels
(Mustelidae), racoon (Procyon lotor), opossum (Didelphis virginiana),
snakes, and birds of prey [23].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
American woodcocks are a popular game species in the East [2].  Much
habitat manipulation is conducted to improve woodcock populations.
Clearcutting aspen stands is a common and successful practice, usually
leading to an influx of woodcocks within the first 2 years after harvest
[3].  When these stands are cut, bare mineral soil is exposed and
woodcocks can easily forage for earthworms [6].  However, because
succession can take place rapidly following harvest of aspen stands, the
benefits of cutting may be short-lived [15].  Aspen stand management
strategies for improving American woodcock habitat have been outlined
[22].

Wetland draining and pesticide use can both have a negative impact on
woodcocks [6].  Draining wetlands reduces the water table and
subsequently earthworm abundance.  The American woodcock is extremely
sensitive to pesticides, since the majority of their diet includes
insects [5,24].


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Scolopax minor | American Woodcock 



DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS : 
Depending on season, fire could destroy American woodcock nests.


HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS : 
Fires appear to have a beneficial effect on woodcock habitat.  The most
notable benefit is the reduction of ground vegetation, which facilitates
foraging beneath the soil surface [6].  Fires can also raise the pH of
soils, which can favor earthworm abundance [20].  One negative impact of
fire may be the drying out of soil, which would drive earthworms deeper
into the ground.  Fire can also destroy important hiding and roosting
cover [6,17].

Woodcock behavior studies have shown that woodcocks prefer burned to
unburned areas for foraging, and often times are attracted to areas even
as fires still burn [10,19,22].


FIRE USE : 
Fires can be used to clear vegetation for better foraging opportunities,
as well as raise soil pH, which may promote earthworm abundance.
However, adequate cover must be maintained for nesting, brood rearing,
and roosting.


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

REFERENCES
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Scolopax minor | American Woodcock 



REFERENCES : 

 .  Donohoe, Robert W. 1974. American hornbeam  Carpinus caroliniana Walt.
       In: Gill, John D.; Healy, William M., eds. Shrubs and vines for
       northeastern wildlife. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-9. Upper Darby, PA: U.S.
       Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest
       Experiment Station: 86-88.  [13714]

 .  Artmann, Joseph W. 1977. Woodcock status report, 1975. Special
       Scientific Report - Wildlife No. 210. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 36 p.  [16610]

 .  Bennett, Carl L.; Rabe, Dale L.; Prince, Harold, H. 1982. Response of
       several species, with emphasis on woodcock, to extensive habitat
       manipulations. In: Dwyer, Thomas J.; Storm, Gerald L., technical
       coordinators. Wildlife Research Report 14. Washington, DC: U.S.
       Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service: 97-105.  [16614]

 .  Arno, Stephen F.; Gruell, George E. 1986. Douglas-fir encroachment into
       mountain grasslands in southwestern Montana. Journal of Range
       Management. 39(3): 272-276.  [343]

 .  Besadny, C. D. 1978. Upland game and waterfowl. In: Proceedings, 67th
       convention of international fish and wildlife agencies; 1977 September
       12-14; Vancouver, BC. Washington, DC: International Association of Fish
       and Wildlife Agencies: 13-35.  [16623]

 .  Cade, Brian S. 1985. Habitat suitability index models: American woodcock
       (wintering). Biological Report 82 (10.105). Washington, DC: U.S.
       Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 23 p.  [16611]

 .  Johnson, Randall C.; Causey, M. Keith. 1982. Use of longleaf pine stands
       by woodcock in southern Alabama following prescribed burning. In: Dwyer,
       Thomas J.; Storm, Gerald L., technical coordinators. Wildlife Research
       Report 14. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and
       Wildlife Service: 120-125.  [16616]

 .  DeGraaf, Richard M.; Scott, Virgil E.; Hamre, R. H.; [and others]. 1991.
       Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and
       habitat use. Agric. Handb. 688. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service. 625 p.  [15856]

 .  Dwyer, Thomas J.; Derlech, Eric L.; McAuley, Daniel G. 1982. Woodcock
       brood ecology in Maine. In: Dwyer, Thomas J.; Storm, Gerald L.,
       technical coordinators. Wildlife Research Report 14. Washington, DC:
       U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service: 63-70. 
       [16613]

.  Edwards, William R.; Ellis, J. A. 1958. Responses of three avian species
       to burning. Wilson Bulletin. 81(3): 338-339.  [16619]

.  Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
       Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p.  [905]

.  Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
       1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
       ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p.  [998]

.  Gregg, Larry E.; Hale, James, B. 1977. Woodcock nesting habitat in
       northern Wisconsin. Auk. 94: 489-493.  [16618]

.  Grzybowski, Joseph A.; Eaton, Stephen W. 1976. Prey items of goshawks in
       southwestern New York. Wilson Bulletin. 88: 669-670.  [16625]

.  Hale, James B.; Gregg, Larry E. 1976. Woodcock use of clearcut aspen
       areas in Wisconsin. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 4(3): 111-115.  [16622]

.  Hamel, Paul B.; LeGrand, Harry E., Jr.; Lennartz, Michael R.;
       Gauthreaux, Sidney A., Jr. 1982. Bird-habitat relationships on
       southeastern forest lands. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-22. Asheville, NC: U.S.
       Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest
       Experiment Station. 417 p.  [15423]

.  Irving, Frank D., Jr. 1950. Some possible effects on wildlife of
       controlled burning in the pine types of Minnesota. Minneapolis, MN:
       University of Minnesota. 43 p. Thesis.  [15913]

.  Johnsgard, Paul A. 1981. The plovers, sandpipers, and snipes of the
       world. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska. 493 p.  [16617]

.  Johnson, Randall C.; Causey, M. Keith. 1982. Use of longleaf pine stands
       by woodcock in southern Alabama following prescribed burning. In: Dwyer,
       Thomas J.; Storm, Gerald L., technical coordinators. Wildlife Research
       Report 14. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and
       Wildlife Service: 120-125.  [16616]

.  Kozlowski, T. T.; Ahlgren, C. E., eds. 1974. Fire and ecosystems. New
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.  Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
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.  Sepik, Greg F.; Dwyer, Thomas J. 1982. Woodcock in response to habitat
       management in Maine. In: Dwyer, Thomas J.; Storm, Gerald L., technical
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.  Sheldon, William G. 1967. The book of the American woodcock. Amherst,
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.  Stickel, William H.; Hayne, D. W.; Stickel, Lucille F. 1965. Effects of
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.  Terres, John K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American
       birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1109 p.  [16195]

.  Wishart, Richard A.; Bider, J. Roger. 1976. Habitat preferences of
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Related categories for Wildlife Species: Scolopax minor | American Woodcock