
n., pl., woodcock, or -cocks.
Either of two related game birds, Scolopax rusticola of the Old World or Philohela minor of North America, having brownish plumage, short legs, and a long bill.
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American Heritage Dictionary:
wood·cock |

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
woodcock |
For more information on woodcock, visit Britannica.com.
Barron's Food Lover's Companion:
woodcock |
A small, plump game bird with a rich, dark flesh. The American woodcock is smaller than the Eurasian species. Woodcocks are typically roasted without being eviscerated, as the entrails are considered a delicacy.
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Rhymes:
woodcock |
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:
woodcock |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Woodcock |
| Woodcocks | |
|---|---|
| American Woodcock (S. minor) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Subclass: | Neornithes |
| Infraclass: | Neognathae |
| Superorder: | Neoaves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Suborder: | Scolopaci |
| Family: | Scolopacidae |
| Genus: | Scolopax Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Diversity | |
| 7-8 living species | |
The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea. Their closest relatives are the typical snipes of the genus Gallinago.[1]
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Woodcocks have stocky bodies, cryptic brown and blackish plumage and long slender bills. Their eyes are located on the sides of their heads, which gives them 360° vision.[2] Unlike in most birds, the tip of the bill's upper mandible is flexible.[3]
As their common name implies, the woodcocks are woodland birds. They feed at night or in the evenings, searching for invertebrates in soft ground with their long bills. This habit and their unobtrusive plumage makes it difficult to see them when they are resting in the day. Most have distinctive displays known as "roding", usually given at dawn or dusk.[4]
All woodcocks are popular gamebirds; the island endemic species are often quite rare already due to overhunting. The pin feathers of the woodcock are much esteemed as brushtips by artists, who use them for fine painting work.[5] The pin feather is the covert of the leading primary feather of the wing.
The following species of woodcocks are extant today:[6]
A number of woodcocks are extinct and are known only from fossil or subfossil bones. Due to their close relationship to the Gallinago snipes, the woodcocks are a fairly young group of birds, even considering that the Charadriiformes themselves are an ancient lineage. Gallinago and Scolopax diverged probably around the Late Miocene some 10-5 million years ago.
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Translations:
Woodcock |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - skovsneppe
Français (French)
n. - bécasse
Deutsch (German)
n. - Waldschnepfe
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ορνιθ.) μπεκάτσα, ξυλόκοτα
Português (Portuguese)
n. - galinhola (f) (Zool.)
Русский (Russian)
вальдшнеп, лесной кулик
Español (Spanish)
n. - becada, chocha, gallina sorda
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - morkulla
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
鸟鹬
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 鳥鷸
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) دجاجه الأرض, حمار الحجل
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - חרטומן (עוף)
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![]() | American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
![]() | Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Barron's Food Lover's Companion. Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more | |
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![]() | Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
| Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more | ||
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![]() | Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. Read more |
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![]() | Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Woodcock. Read more |
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