Aging and Sexing American Woodcock

“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” is a common phrase most folks are familiar with. From a sustainability standpoint, it’s easy to understand that leaving more birds on the landscape than you take is something worth valuing. However, when we are lucky enough to have a bird in the hand, how do we begin to identify what that bird is?

Hopefully, if you’re an upland hunter, you already know how to identify a game bird to species. Given that hunting regulations are almost always species-specific, it’s our responsibility to know what’s flushing in front of us before pulling the trigger, especially when multiple species can look incredibly similar. Wilson’s snipe come to mind as an example because they share their favorite habitats with federally protected shorebird species. Luckily, when hunting American woodcock, you probably won’t run into any lookalikes; I can’t imagine anyone’s ever mistaken a ruffed grouse for a woodcock.