LC
Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola



Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable
- - -

Red List history
Year Category Criteria
2016 Least Concern
2014 Least Concern
2012 Least Concern
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern
Species attributes

Migratory status full migrant Forest dependency medium
Land-mass type Average mass -
Range

Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) 49,000,000 km2 medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) 52,500,000 km2 medium
Severely fragmented? no -
Population
Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
Population size unknown poor estimated 2012
Population trend stable - suspected -
Generation length 6.3 years - - -

Population justification: The global population is estimated to number c.10,000,000-26,000,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2015). The European population is estimated at 6,890,000-8,710,000 calling or lekking males, which equates to 13,800,000-17,400,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2015).

Trend justification: The largest population is estimated to be stable (BirdLife International 2015). Therefore the overall population trend is stable, although some populations have unknown trends (Wetlands International 2015).


Country/territory distribution
Country/Territory Presence Origin Resident Breeding visitor Non-breeding visitor Passage migrant
Afghanistan extant native yes
Albania extant native yes
Algeria extant native
Armenia extant native yes
Austria extant native yes
Azerbaijan extant native yes
Bahrain extant vagrant yes
Bangladesh extant vagrant
Belarus extant native yes
Belgium extant native yes
Bhutan extant native yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina possibly extinct vagrant
Brunei extant vagrant
Bulgaria extant native yes
Canada extant vagrant
China (mainland) extant native yes
Croatia extant native yes
Cyprus extant native yes
Czechia extant native yes
Denmark extant native yes yes
Egypt extant native
Estonia extant native yes
Faroe Islands (to Denmark) extant native yes
Finland extant native yes
France extant native yes yes
Georgia extant native yes
Germany extant native yes yes
Gibraltar (to UK) extant vagrant yes
Greece extant native yes yes
Greenland (to Denmark) extant vagrant
Hong Kong (China) extant native
Hungary extant native yes yes
Iceland extant vagrant
India extant native yes
Iran, Islamic Republic of extant native yes
Iraq extant native yes
Ireland extant native yes
Israel extant native
Italy extant native yes yes
Japan extant native yes
Jordan extant vagrant
Kazakhstan extant native yes
Kuwait extant native yes
Kyrgyzstan extant native yes yes
Laos extant native
Latvia extant native yes
Lebanon extant native yes yes
Libya extant native
Liechtenstein extant native yes
Lithuania extant native yes
Luxembourg extant native yes
Malaysia extant vagrant
Malta extant native
Moldova extant native yes yes
Mongolia extant native yes
Montenegro extant native yes
Morocco extant native
Myanmar extant native
Nepal extant native yes
Netherlands extant native yes
North Korea extant native
North Macedonia extant native yes
Norway extant native yes
Oman extant vagrant yes
Pakistan extant native yes
Palestine extant native yes yes
Philippines extant vagrant
Poland extant native yes
Portugal extant native yes
Romania extant native yes
Russia extant native yes yes
Russia (Asian) extant native yes
Russia (Central Asian) extant native yes
Russia (European) extant native yes
Saudi Arabia extant native yes
Serbia extant native yes
Singapore extant native yes
Slovakia extant native yes
Slovenia extant native yes yes
South Korea extant native
Spain extant native yes
Sri Lanka extant native
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) extant vagrant
Sweden extant native yes
Switzerland extant native yes
Syria extant native yes
Taiwan, China extant native
Tajikistan extant native
Thailand extant native
Tunisia extant native
Türkiye extant native yes
Turkmenistan extant native
Ukraine extant native yes yes
United Arab Emirates extant vagrant yes
United Kingdom extant native yes
USA extant vagrant
Uzbekistan extant native
Vietnam extant native

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Country/Territory IBA Name

Habitats & altitude
Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial Plantations suitable breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial Plantations suitable non-breeding
Forest Boreal suitable breeding
Forest Temperate major breeding
Forest Temperate major non-breeding
Shrubland Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation suitable breeding
Shrubland Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation suitable non-breeding
Altitude   Occasional altitudinal limits  

Utilisation
Purpose Scale
Food - human subsistence, national
Sport hunting/specimen collecting subsistence, national

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/eurasian-woodcock-scolopax-rusticola on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.