Globe › Birds › Eurasian woodcock
Eurasian woodcock migration Scolopax rusticola
▶ Follow the Eurasian woodcock across the big globe
Press ▶ to play the year. Line: a simplified typical route, joining the main cluster of GBIF records in each month (adjusted for observer effort).
_-_Spiekeroog,_Nationalpark_Nieders%C3%A4chsisches_Wattenmeer.jpg){kind=link}
| Scientific name | Scolopax rusticola |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 58 cm |
| IUCN status | Least concern |
| Records mapped | 490,101 (GBIF) |
| GPS / geolocator tracks | none with an open licence yet |
Facts from Wikidata Q26114 (CC0).
When does the Eurasian woodcock arrive in the UK?
Recorded in the UK in every season, so the records do not show one clear arrival date.
Bars: this species’ share of all UK bird records in GBIF (CC0/CC BY), by month, scaled to the peak month. Based on 23,629 UK records. Weekly counts from the GBIF occurrence search API (country=GB). Dates are read from records, not from a survey, so treat them as a guide.
Migration in the data
490,101 GBIF records (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 licences only) are mapped here, in 1.41° grid cells, month by month.
In Europe and Africa, the centre of the records (adjusted for observer effort) is furthest north in July (about 61°N) and furthest south in December (about 50°N).
Month by month: centre of records in Europe and Africa
| Month | Centre (latitude) | South of the Equator |
|---|---|---|
| January | 50°N | 0% |
| February | 50°N | 0% |
| March | 53°N | 0% |
| April | 58°N | 0% |
| May | 60°N | 0% |
| June | 60°N | 0% |
| July | 61°N | 0% |
| August | 60°N | 0% |
| September | 60°N | 0% |
| October | 56°N | 0% |
| November | 50°N | 0% |
| December | 50°N | 0% |
Tracked birds
No openly licensed (CC0 / CC BY) tracking data package for this species was found in the Movebank Data Repository yet, so only records are shown.
About the Eurasian woodcock
The Eurasian woodcock is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes are set far back on its head to give it 360-degree vision and it probes in the ground for food with its long, sensitive bill, making it vulnerable to cold weather when the ground remains frozen.
From the Wikipedia article “Eurasian woodcock” (revision 1367878140), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources
GBIF occurrence records, licence CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, observations only (no specimens), filtered with: taxonKey=2481700&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&hasGeospatialIssue=false&basisOfRecord=HUMAN_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=MACHINE_OBSERVATION&basisOfRecord=OBSERVATION. Monthly queries: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec. GBIF.org (23 October 2026) occurrence data accessed via the GBIF API; a GBIF download DOI is still to be added. Contributing datasets.