Description:

A large and bulky bird, with bill long and straight, but relatively shorter; broad and rounded wings. Mainly rufous brown and reddish above providing good camouflage; broad rounded wings. Crown and nape banded black and buff; lacks sharply defined mantle and scapular stripes.

Distribution:

Uncommon passage migrant and winter visitor to central Gilgit-Baltistan, absent from Astore and Baltistan. Usually found near wetlands, mosaic habitats and extensive woodland covered by undergrowth of scrub. Up to 3500m during passage migration.

Behavior:

Feeds by probing in puddles or damp ground, or by pecking at ground surface, or under leaf-litter and twigs; may use foot-trembling. Often forages at night, especially outside breeding season. Mainly feeds on animals, with some plant matter. Animals include earthworms, insects and their larvae like beetles and earwigs; millipedes, spiders, crustaceans, slugs and leeches.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Eurasian Woodcock in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Eurasian Woodcock

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.