Home
Bird Guide
Bird Cams
Bird Academy
Bird ID Skills
Feeding Birds
Bird Friendly Homes
Problems
FAQs
Biology
News & Features
Videos
Get Involved

Living Bird Magazine
Membership Services
Support the Lab

IDMerlin Bird IDMerlin Bird ID Join Us

All About Birds

Search

Browse all birds

Looking forBird ID Help?

Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds.

Try Merlin Bird ID

Recently Viewed Species

American Woodcock Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Song
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
Maryland, February 27, 1998Recorded by Wil Hershberger | Macaulay Library
Flight display
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
New JerseyRecorded by George B. Reynard | Macaulay Library
Song
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
Ontario, May 10, 1958Recorded by William W. H. Gunn | Macaulay Library
Agonistic calls
Media Player Error
Update your browser or Flash plugin
Ontario, April 01, 1952Recorded by William W. H. Gunn | Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Calls

Displaying males give a repeated, buzzy, nasal peent while on the ground between flights. In the air, a displaying male chirps melodically for as long as 15 seconds as he zigzags downward from the apex of his display flight.

Other Sounds

As the male spirals upward into the sky during his display flight, his wings make a twittering sound produced by air passing through three narrow outer primaries. This sound may also occur during other activities.

Compare with Similar Species

Click on an image to compare

Wilson's Snipe Adult is similar to American Woodcock

Killdeer Adult is similar to American Woodcock

Looking for ID Help?

Get Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds.

Try Merlin Bird ID

Species in This Family

Sandpipers and Allies(Order: Charadriiformes, Family:Scolopacidae)

Upland Sandpiper

Upland Sandpiper

Long-billed Curlew

Long-billed Curlew

Hudsonian Godwit

Hudsonian Godwit

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

Black Turnstone

Black Turnstone

Stilt Sandpiper

Stilt Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

Purple Sandpiper

Baird's Sandpiper

Baird's Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Short-billed Dowitcher

Short-billed Dowitcher

Long-billed Dowitcher

Long-billed Dowitcher

American Woodcock

American Woodcock

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Wandering Tattler

Wandering Tattler

Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Browse Species in This Family

More to Read

Bird Academy
Bird Song Hero
Bird Academy
All About Feathers
Project FeederWatch
Tricky Bird IDs

NestWatch
Right Bird, Right House: Guide to Birds and Birdhouses for Your Region
eBird
eBird: Help & FAQ
Project FeederWatch
Common Feeder Birds: Quick Info on Food Preferences

American Woodcock

Overview
ID Info
Life History
Maps
Sounds
Merlin Bird ID

Overview
What We Do
Visit the Lab
Job Opportunities
News Releases

Citizen Science

eBird
Project Feederwatch
NestWatch
Celebrate Urban Birds
Great Backyard Bird Count
Habitat Network

Lifelong Learning

Online Courses
Workshops
Bird Walks & Events
Spring Field Ornithology
BirdSleuth

Birds of North America
Clements Checklist
Neotropical Birds
State of the Birds
Annual Report
Scientific Citations
Living Bird Magazine

Bird Guide
Bird Cams
Macaulay Library
"Raven" Sound Analysis
Our Youtube Videos
FAQs

Support Our Cause

Join the Lab
Donate
Monthly Giving
Membership Services
Shop for Our Cause

Contact the Lab
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Site Credits

Copyright © 2017 Cornell University

New call-to-action

Do not show this again