Look and Listen for Woodcocks American Woodcock photo by J.A.Spendelow Beginning right when the first spring peepers are calling, male American Woodcocks start "peenting" —a call that some people confuse with frogs. Woodcocks are squat, dumpy birds with improbably long beaks that they use to pull earthworms out of the mud. They call at dawn, dusk, and sometimes all night, right when peepers are at the height of their singing. People in the eastern United States and Canada hear woodcocks in April, and in northern sites may continue to hear them in May and sometimes early June, right along with the frogs. Woodcocks don't limit themselves to frog imitations. One by one, the males suddenly take off into the sky to perform a lovely skydance possible only for a bird. Their wings make a chittering sound as they spiral skyward. When they reach a height of about 300 feet, they start singing in a liquid warble, flying round and round in a circle. Then they suddenly drop to the ground like a spent leaf to call out "peent" once again, down with the frogs. Woodcock and Peepers Woodcock Skydance Listen to one woodcock "peenting" with spring peepers calling: .wav file .aif file Listen to one woodcock performing his spring skydance .wav file .aif file These spectacular skydances only take place when it's too dark for most predators to see woodcocks easily. The best nocturnal predators, owls, aren't attracted by the low frequency "peents," and the higher pitched wing and warbling sounds are made as the bird is too high in the air for owls to catch. Woodcocks are are designed to eat one thing: worms. Woodcocks are very secretive during daytime and active at nighttime when worms are most active. But nighttime is NOT when woodcocks eat most of their worms! They stay focused on dancing and mating in open fields at night and eat worms in the woods during the day, when worms are hiding in their burrows. To get the worms, woodcocks stick their long beaks into the soil. But there is a problem with sticking a three-inch-long beak into the soil. If a woodcock had its mouth open when it stuck its beak in the soil, it would end up with a mouthful of mud. But if it had its mouth shut, it would have trouble opening it while all that mud was pressing against it, holding it shut. What is the solution? Try This! Journaling Question How do woodcocks open their beaks in deep soil without getting a mouthful of mud—or keep the soil from holding their long beaks shut? After you consider the question and write your answer (no peeking before you give it a try!), learn more about the fascinating woodcock's beak here.   Copyright 2004 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form