New Guinea Woodcock
Scolopax rosenbergii
A large, dark shorebird with deep chestnut upperside and breast patterned with black banding and a white belly. Dumpy, with a short tail and long bill. Confined to New Guinea, where it inhabits wet montane forest, nearby thickets, and alpine grassland. Most often seen on the forest floor or in crepuscular aerial display flights. Unmistakable, as the only forest-dwelling shorebird in the mountains on the island. In display flight, gives deep “grrr-grrr-grrr” calls and a thin, high-pitched, disyllabic “chuwit” note heard regularly.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Scolopax rosenbergii
- Authority
- Schlegel, 1871
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Scolopax
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
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