Throughout their lives and even within a single day, American Woodcock are citizens of many habitats.

By day they forage in forest, probing the soft soil with their bill in search of worms and insects.

But every evening at sundown woodcock silhouettes appear in the sky as the birds commute from the forest to settle in fields and clearings where they spend each night.

One reason they may do this to avoid predators.  By measuring predator activity in both habitats, a recent study in Rhode Island found that predator abundance at night was far lower in open fields where woodcock roost compared to the forests where they spend the day.  Read More…