Woodcock Call MP3s
A true-to-life woodcock call built for hunters working coverts and hedgerows with pointing dogs during the migration season.
Also known as
Recordings (6)
About this species
Around 35 cm in length, the Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) is a migratory wader (shorebird): a master of camouflage, its dead-leaf plumage rendering it almost invisible on the woodland floor. It hides by day in damp, leaf-littered woodland with soft soil for probing.
In its dusk 'roding' flight the male gives a curious mix of croaking grunts and a thin, sharp sneeze. By night it probes soft woodland soil for earthworms with its long, sensitive bill. Crepuscular and solitary, it is seen mainly in its dusk display flight over the trees. Its long-distance journeys link the tundra and moors of the north with the estuaries and lagoons of the south.
Legal use
The Eurasian Woodcock is a well-established game species with regulated hunting seasons across a wide range, including France, Italy, Ireland, the UK, and other Western European countries where hunter federations actively manage the species, as well as in Russia — home to roughly three-quarters of the European breeding population and a major destination for spring "tyaga" (roding-flight) hunting in its own right — and in parts of the Caucasus. Season dates, bag limits, and licensing vary considerably by country, and the species is protected in some jurisdictions despite being popular quarry in others. Confirm current local rules before hunting; see our full country-by-country disclaimer.