The Bukidnon woodcock (''Scolopax bukidnonensis''), or Philippine woodcock is a medium-sized

wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

. It was only described as new to science as recently as 2001, although the initial specimens had been collected on Luzon in the 1960s, these were originally misidentified as

Eurasian woodcock The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') 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 ...

specimens. It was not until the bird was heard calling in 1993, and new specimens obtained on Mindanao in 1995, that it was realised that the species was new. It is listed as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by the IUCN.

Description

The Bukidnon woodcock is rich reddish-brown above, finely barred and vermiculated with black and broadly barred with blackish markings across the crown, the underparts are paler and buffer. The eye is placed high and far back on the head, and the beak is long with a flexible tip to extract worms and other invertebrates from the soil.Kennedy, Robert S.; Fisher, Timothy H.; Harrap, Simon C.B.; Diesmos, Arvin C: & Manamtam, Arturo S. (2001): A new species of woodcock from the Philippines and a re-evaluation of other Asian/Papuasian woodcock ''Forktail'' 17(1): 1-12

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Distribution and habitat

This species is restricted to mountain forests (over 1000 m above sea level) on the islands of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

(four mountaintops) and

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

(center and north) in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Its

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is extremely remote and rugged, and is unsuitable for either logging or agriculture. It is found in montane forest above 1000m on Luzon and Mindanao. Shy and secretive, it rests by day on the

forest floor The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stages ...

and is active at night. These birds fly in a wide circuit over the forest, giving a loud, metallic, rattling `pip-pip-pip-pip-pip` interspersed by very quiet grunts.

Behaviour

Little is known about the bird in the wild. It is described as having a "roding" display flight in January to March just before dawn, like other birds of the genus.

Status

The Bukidnon woodcock has a large range and it is relatively common within that range. Its population size has not been quantified but the IUCN has listed it as being of "

", believing that any decline in population is too slow as to justify placing the bird in a more threatened category.

References

External links

* Birdlife International
Bukidnon woodcock species factsheet
Retrieved 2007-FEB-22. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1271832 Bukidnon woodcock Birds of Luzon Birds of Mindanao Endemic birds of the Philippines Bukidnon woodcock