Eurasian woodcock

    Scolopax rusticola

Castilian: Chocha perdiz

Catalan: Becada

Gallego: Arcea

Euskera: Oilagorra

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Charadriiformes

Family: Scolopacidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”.

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THREATS

This species is fundamentally affected by the destruction of forests in its breeding areas and by the decrease of livestock pastures (which provide its source of food in winter), and of course by hunting because it is a very sought-after specimen.

Length / size: 33-38 cm / 55-65 cm

Identification: Somewhat large wader with a long bill, short legs and large, dark eyes. Its cryptic plumage consists of brown and reddish colours, with a complex pattern of different-coloured bars and spots on its back; its lower body is cream-coloured with darker horizontal streaks. Adults and juveniles are very similar.

Song: In courtship, the male makes a hoarse sound that ends in a high-pitched, explosive one: "uorc uorc uorc peessp".

Diet: It feeds on invertebrates that it captures on the ground thanks to its long bill, which it uses as a probe. It sometimes consumes plant matter.

Reproduction: It begins in spring, when the males perform mating flights to attract females. The nest is built in a small depression in the ground, among the layer of dead leaves and at the base of a tree or bramble, and it is covered with leaves, dry grass and feathers. Incubation is done by the female and shortly after being born, the chicks, covered with a soft, cryptic down, are able to move about on their own.

HABITAT

It is a species that depends on forest areas. It nests in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, and it prefers birch, oak and beech forests. In winter it occupies mountain oak forests, low oak groves and even riverside meadows.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: When wintering, it is especially concentrated in the north and the western half of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands. When breeding, it is distributed throughout the northern wetland region, from Galicia to Catalonia, en mountain forests in the Iberian and Central Systems, as well as in the Canary Islands.

In Castile and León: During breeding season, it is distributed throughout the mountains of Burgos (La Demanda), León (Ancares), Palencia (Fuentes Carrionas), Soria (Moncayo, Urbión, Cebollera) and Zamora (Sanabria).

Movements and migrations: Specimens come to the peninsula from central and western Europe in passage or to spend the winter. The autumn passage takes place the second week of November, and the spring one the second fortnight of January. Resident specimens in the peninsula make altitudinal movements if conditions are unfavourable.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 3600-4000 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 700 breeding pairs.