timberdoodle

[ tim-ber-dood-l, tim-ber-dood-l ]

noun

, Informal.

1. the American woodcock, Philohela minor.

Word History and Origins

Origin of timberdoodle¹

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; timber + doodle ¹

Example Sentences

The American woodcock -- also called a timberdoodle, bogsucker, night partridge, and Labrador twister, among many more -- is a migratory shorebird that occurs throughout eastern and central North America but its populations have been declining over the past half century.

From Science Daily

The woodcock, also known as the timberdoodle, can be spotted on the ground beneath shrubbery, doing a groovy little dance.

From New York Times

The woodcock, also known as the timberdoodle, can be spotted on the ground beneath shrubbery, doing a groovy little dance.

From New York Times

I should add that the American woodcock, known affectionately as the timberdoodle, is an elusive, seldom seen and relatively rare ghost hidden in tangled tree and thicket bottoms. Small as a quail, it is a loner, not prone to flocking in anything like commercially viable numbers. One might see two or three together. And it flies in a darting blur of brown that succeeds in putting every tree, shrub, vine and briar between you and it in a split second. 

From Washington Post

Its alias is downright silly: the timberdoodle.

From Washington Times