American Woodcock

This picture was taken on 27th May 2007 in our back yard. This bird is seldom seen as it is almost invisible when in a background of dried leaves. They are generally nocturnal, but this guy slammed into a friends RV that was parked in our back yard. He stunned himself for awhile but finally woke up and walked off into the bush. One peculiar thing about them is that they will hold their head and legs still and rock their body back and forth, front to rear. It's quite amazing that while doing this, their head doesn't move. Their main food is earthworms and insects. They lay their eggs in a depression on the open ground.