Woodcock

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Woodcock

Artist Frank Weston Benson American, 1862-1951

Dateafter 1928

Dimensions11 13/16 x 9 11/16 in.

MediumDrypoint

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGift of Joseph Hearst

Object number

1951.411

Not on View

Collections

Works on Paper

Published ReferencesPaff catalogue 292Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, For the Birds, April 13-October 14, 2012.Label TextEach spring as dusk falls, the male American Woodcock’s nasal “peent” call, his in-flight chirping, and the whirring twitter sound made by his wings as he performs aerial acrobatics in a spectacular mating display can be heard along the edge of wooded areas in the eastern half of the United States. A plump shorebird that incongruously lives in the woods and feeds on earthworms, the woodcock is a peculiar sight with its large, dark eyes, long beak, and slow, rocking gate as it attempts to stir up worms beneath the soil.