Shorebird calls III : Woodcock and Snipe

American Woodcock peent at dusk and dawn from the ground before rising into the air to perform their flight display. Although they are heard more often in February through early spring, the calls can be heard even in December if the weather is mild.
(dawn, Feb, NJ)










A soft croak precedes each peent, but a peent does not always follow the croak. In this recording, the bird has just completed its final (12th) flight display of the evening (the period of flight displays lasted 20 minutes, began 17 minutes after sunset, 6 minutes after the first peent). The bird is heard landing, peents a few times, and then begins walking, uttering only croaks (7.44pm, mid-Mar, PA).



An aggressive rattle is often heard when a male flies over a rival male. The twittering of the wings stops during the rattle in both of these examples(6.21am, Mar, PA).

(7.31pm, Mar, PA).



A single flight display (with other birds peenting from the ground,7.34pm, Mar, PA).

At the end of a flight the vocal chirping stops a few seconds before the birds lands at 11s (7.25pm, Mar, PA)


This recording begins with a bird at the height of a display flight, and ends with a second, complete, flight display, with peents in between.
(5.50am, Feb, NJ)

continuous mechanical twittering during ascent





intermittent twittering and chirping at peak




continuous vocal chirping during descent




Multiple (at least seven) males peenting in a field before dawn. Peenting began at 6.14am, and continued until 6.38am, half an hour before sunrise (6.27am, Mar, PA).


Flushed bird (7.55pm, Mar, PA).


Alarm call "scaip" of Wilson's Snipe, also the flight call (after sunset, April, PA)










Other calls of Wilson's Snipe are usually only heard on the breeding grounds:

Jick call with winnowing (the flight display sound) in the background (May, ND).












The winnowing sound is made by the tail feathers (May, ND).

time scale reduced










Chipper call from the top of a spruce (June, AK).











Distress call from adult bird with recently hatched chicks (June, AK).












Call of a chick (the chick was stranded in the middle of a road and was picked up and placed in a safer location nearby, June, AK).