Scolopax rusticola - spring

Woodcock

AGE – BEST CRITERIA:

Since the pre-br moult is limited to the body and head, the characters used during autumn are still valid. 2cy birds show moult contrasts in the wing between the worn and bleached retained juv plumage and fresher glossy post-juv plumage. Juv feathers still retain their dominant orange/brown colouration. Typically, moult limits are found within the TT or between the TT and SS. Those with a more limited post-juv moult replace only the inner one-third GC but most moult all GC (the moult limit is then found between the outermost GC and PC). Often 1-3 AL are also included in the post-juv moult. 3cy+ birds show a uniform and moderately fresh plumage with, on average, less orange/brown colouration, tending to be dominated by darker glossier brown and black tones.

 

Most ad birds are not possible to age further than 3cy+ due to the complete post-br moult. However, some ad arrest their moult before completion of SS and/or underwing GC. Hence, feathers retained in the post-br moult are still useful during spring as they can usually be assigned to either juv or ad type, and thereby gives the possibility to separate some 3cy and 4cy+ birds.

 

2cy:

  • Juv PP (especially outer PP) and SS are moderately to heavily worn, being of poorer quality compared to ad ones. The feathers are rather narrow with tapering and pointed tips (outer web tips of the SS and inner web tips of the inner PP are always noticeably convex). They show, on average, larger orange/brown wedges than ad, resulting in a dominant rufous appearance.
  • Juv PC have broad orange/brown tips similar in colour to the neighbouring orange/brown wedges. They are narrower than ad, taper slightly and have rounded tips with a bleached dark brown ground colour.
  • Juv GC are rich orange/brown with less distinct and narrower black bars (often with limited or no grey centres) compared with ad. The feathers are approximately one-quarter shorter than subsequent generations.
  • Underwing GC and underwing PC are oblong, narrow, and taper towards a rounded tip. The darker areas are cold brown.
  • Juv TT are moderately worn with orange/brown bars contrasting with bleached dark brown bars containing grey centres. They are also less dense in structure than subsequent generations.
  • Juv RR are rounder, more worn and have a browner ground colour to the upper-side of the grey tips compared with ad.

3cy+:

  • Whole plumage rather fresh, dense and lacks moult contrasts.
  • PP and SS broad and glossy with bulbous blunt tips, often a slight concave tip to the inner web of the inner PP and the outer web of SS. Ad show, on average, smaller orange/brown wedges than juv, giving a cold brown/black dominance to the flight feathers.
  • PC with narrow beige or white tips, paler than the neighbouring orange/brown wedges. They are broad, blunt-tipped and have a glossy black ground colour.
  • GC less orange/brown than juv with thick, distinct black bars (often with obvious grey centres). All feathers are a similar length.
  • Underwing GC and underwing PC are parallel sided, broad and have a blunt tip. The darker areas are glossy grey/black.
  • TT fresh or slightly worn with orange/brown bars contrasting with glossy black bars containing mottled grey centres.
  • RR all fresh with silver-grey upper-side tips.

3cy:

  • As 3cy+ but has at least one retained juv S and/or underwing GC.

4cy+:

  • As 3cy+ but has at least one retained post-br S and/or underwing GC from the previous year’s SC moult.

2cy March. Rufous tones dominate with tapering and pointed tips to the PP and a moderate amount of wear, particularly noticeable on the outer PP. Post-juv LC, MC, and inner one-third GC contrast to juv outer GC. [6432544]

2cy April. Moderate degree of wear and bleaching to the juv PP, SS, and PC with glossier black ground colour to post-juv LC, MC, and GC. [6449994]

3cy+ March. Glossy brown/black ground colour with narrow orange/brown wedges. Broad PP and SS with only a slight amount of wear. [6449993]

3cy+ March. Uniform wing with no moult contrasts. Glossy brown/black ground colour, broad PP and SS, and minimal wear. [6430985]

4cy+ March. Whole wing post-br with SS1-7 from the previous year’s SC moult. All PP and SS with glossy brown/black ground colour, broad and fresh. [6432545]

2cy April. PP with large orange/brown wedges. The outer ones taper towards a pointed and moderately worn tip. [6432397]

2cy March. PP bleached with pointed tips. [6432546]

3cy+ March. PP broad and blunt tipped with smaller orange/brown wedges highlighting the glossy brown/black ground colour. [6432545]

3cy+ March. PP broad and blunt tipped with smaller orange/brown wedges highlighting the glossy brown/black ground colour. [6449993]

2cy April. SS with large orange/brown wedges and pointed tips. Outer web tips are convex. [6432397]

3cy+ March. SS broad and blunt tipped with orange/brown wedges smaller than those of most juv. [6449993]

2cy April. PC narrow with tapering tips. The orange/brown tips are broad and the same colour as the neighbouring wedges. All visible AL juv. [6432397]

2cy March. PC moderately worn and bleached. The orange/brown tips are broad and the same colour as the neighbouring wedges. AL1-3 are post-juv. [6432546]

3cy+ March. PC with a glossy brown/black ground colour, fresh and with minimal bleaching. The blunt tips are also narrow and paler than juv. [6222281]

3cy+ March. PC with a glossy brown/black ground colour, fresh and with minimal bleaching. The blunt tips are also narrow and paler than juv. [6432545]

2cy March. Outer two-third GC juv (dominated by orange/brown and with narrow rounded tips), one-quarter shorter than post-juv inner GC. [6432544]

2cy March. All LC, MC, and GC post-juv. Brown/black ground colour to GC contrast with bleached brown juv SS and PC. [6432546]

3cy+ March. All coverts post-br with no moult contrasts. [6449993]

3cy+ March. All coverts post-br with no moult contrasts. [6432545]

2cy April. TT1-4 post-juv. Less bleaching and denser structure of post-juv feathers separate them from juv TT5-6. [6432397]

2cy March. TT1-3 post-juv. These show less bleaching, a denser structure and grow to a slightly longer length than their juv counterparts. [6432544]

3cy+ March. All TT post-br, having a dense structure, minimal bleaching, and mottled grey centres in the black bars. [6449993]

3cy+ March. A more rufous and slightly bleached example although the latter case is to a lesser degree than juv TT. [6222281]

2cy April. Juv underwing GC and underwing PC with a brown basal colour, tapering and rounded tips. [6449994]

2cy April. Juv underwing GC and underwing PC with a brown basal colour, tapering and rounded tips. [6432398]

3cy+ March. Post-br underwing GC and underwing PC with glossy grey/brown basal colour and blunt tips. [6449993]

3cy+ March. Post-br underwing GC and underwing PC all with blunt tips. Those which are bleached brown may be of a previous post-br generation. [6222281]

2cy March. R1 on left side and R6 on right side juv, being shorter, bleached and more worn compared with all other RR which are post-juv. [6432544]

2cy March. A typical example with all RR post-juv and inseparable from ad. [6432546]

3cy+ March. All RR post-br with fresh, silver/grey blunt tips. [6222281]

3cy+ March. All RR post-br. [6449993]

More Scolopax rusticola:

Ageing autumn
Moult

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