Weights for both sexes vary according to time of year. A woodcock's bill is long and thin. Sensitive nerve endings in the lower third of the bill help a woodcock locate earthworms. A special bone-muscle arrangement lets the bird open the tip of its upper bill, or mandible, while it's underground. The long tongue and the underside of the mandible are both rough-surfaced to grasp and pull slippery prey out of the ground.
Eyes are large and set well back and high on the sides of a woodcock's head.
Nostrils are set high on the bill, close to the skull. A woodcock's ears are ahead of the eyes, between the base of the bill and the eye sockets. Hearing and sight are acute. The woodcock's brain is unique among birds. The woodcock of today, in essence, has an upside-down brain.