Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
“Bizarre” could be the word you might use to describe one of America’s most common shorebirds, the American Woodcock. To begin with, you wouldn’t find it along the shore. Instead you’d need to look in moist, brushy areas or in damp fields nearby young forests. It does appear somewhat like a snipe, only its features are more exaggerated. To begin with, its large eyes are placed high on its head. This enables it to see danger even when its long bill is probing deeply into the soil in search of earthworms. Its field of vision is probably the largest of any bird, encompassing 360º in the horizontal plane and 180º in the vertical plane.
Another area where it would qualify for Guinness World Records involves its flight. Although it is most famous for its acrobatic spiraling courtship flights where it zigzags across the sky, it also sets a record for the slowest flight speed ever recorded for an avian species at five miles per hour. Amazing it could stay airborne! But for most of us, what brings the broadest smile to our faces is the way it moves. This bird has “got soul.” Whether walking about or just standing in one place, the woodcock invariably returns to an odd rocking motion that is like no other. Some, trying to develop a reason for such wasted energy, suggest it may be creating vibrations that will disturb the earthworms it seeks into moving. This goes along with the idea that it can hear this movement underground. Support for this idea stems from the fact that the bird’s ears are placed forward, between its eyes and bill, an ideal place for such investigation.
Those who believe God doesn’t love variety and have a sense of humor must have never seen a woodcock. Maybe it’s they who need to open their eyes, and their ears.