American Woodcock: The bird dances a special dance, and all the worms in the area crawl to the surface. What kind of magic? (7 photos + 1 video)

Has everyone seen that cool video where the bird tramples its feet to the music? Is this tut-tut and body still moving? If you missed this masterpiece, we will correct the situation, wait until the end of the paragraph. And for the enlightened, we will reveal the secret: what kind of bird is this and why does it dance so strangely. Meet the aspiring tiktoker - the American woodcock.





You can meet him, oddly enough, in America. Woodcocks do not fly further than their native mainland - they are too well-fed and slow. The maximum speed is 30 km/h, and the minimum is only 8. Simply record holders for leisurely walks in the air! The birds look unsightly and clumsy. They are short-winged, short-legged, and cannot boast of bright plumage. But this look camouflages perfectly.



Birds grow up to 30 centimeters long, and about 7 of them are on... the beak. It is modified in the feathered one. The unique arrangement of bones and muscles allows the woodcock to open and close the tip of its beak when it is buried in the ground. It doesn't sound very innovative, but in reality it is very convenient. Especially when you eat worms!





The inside of the beak is also adapted for grasping worms. The bird's tongue is hard and rough - an ideal mechanism for holding prey.

This is what they do all day long because they need a lot of food. During the day, a woodcock eats an amount of food equal to its weight - 160-210 grams. Like the daughters of their mother’s friend, they eat for three and don’t get fat. Maybe because they eat and dance at the same time?

This is where we come to the answer to the question. All this dancing is not a stupid TikTok trend. Catching worms underground, especially when you are on its surface, is a thankless task. They themselves come into the light only when it rains. And the birds noticed this.



If earlier people used the rain dance to call on the elements, then the feathered one went further. He himself became the rain. With its swaying and stomping dance, the woodcock imitates the vibrations from a downpour. The deceived invertebrates rush to the surface, straight into the beak of the resourceful bird.



It seems that the clumsy bird, always buried in the ground, is an easy prey. But the woodcock has another superpower - vision. Large eyes set literally on the forehead provide a 360° view. A large woodcock is watching you, so you won’t be able to sneak up unnoticed. Unless it's during a "pull".



Traction, or flirting, is a way to attract chicks. Males fly slowly over the ground and attract partners with their singing. So, during a season, one macho can mate with 4 females and become the father of at least 20 woodcocks. But that's all their responsibilities are. Mothers will build the nest, plant the tree and hatch the babies themselves. Fortunately, the youngsters are trained externally.



After 2 weeks they can already fly, within a month they grow to the size of an adult bird, and by 2 months they move away from their mother. Birds grow up so quickly because they die young. The maximum shelf life of woodcock in the wild is only 5 years.