woodcock

views updated Jun 27 2018

wood·cock / ˈwoŏdˌkäk/ • n. (pl. same) a woodland bird (genus Scolopax) of the sandpiper family, with a long bill, brown camouflaged plumage, and a distinctive display flight.

woodcock

views updated May 23 2018

woodcock Any of five species of reddish-brown shorebirds that nest in cool parts of the Northern Hemisphere and winter in warm areas. Both the Eurasian Scolopax rusticola and American Philohela minor insert their long, sensitive, flexible bills into swampy ground to find worms. Length: to 34cm (14in). Family Scolopacidae.