woodcock

noun

wood·cock ˈwu̇d-ˌkäk

plural woodcocks

or plural woodcock

: a shorebird (Scolopax rusticola) of Europe and Asia that frequents moist woodlands, has large eyes and rounded wings, is of a variously mottled reddish-brown, black, and buff color with a barred chest, and is often hunted as game

Note: The woodcock has a long bill with a sensitive tip used especially for probing the ground for earthworms and insects.

: a smaller related bird (Scolopax minor synonym Philohela minor) chiefly of eastern North America with a similar color pattern but having a solid orange buff chest

[from the ease with which the woodcock is snared] archaic : simpleton

Examples of woodcock in a Sentence

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Other events throughout the day include kid-friendly Easter stories, live birds of prey, a bluebird box workshop and an American woodcock sky dance. —

Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Mar. 2024 In the spring, areas around the younger trees drew ground nesters like bobolinks — songbirds that migrate to and from South America — killdeer and woodcocks, who availed themselves of the open spaces to perform their courtship flights and rear their young. —

Cara Buckley, New York Times, 13 Dec. 2023 Overview The woodcock is a shorebird without a shore. —

Matthew Every, Field & Stream, 18 Oct. 2023 By morning, carcasses ranging from Tennessee warblers to hermit thrush to American woodcocks littered the ground outside the convention center. —

Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Oct. 2023 See all Example Sentences for woodcock