Hello Shorty!

On a recent ringing trip I caught this short billed woodcock. Sorry about the poor standard of photography, it was scrambled onto my mobile with the light of my head torch.
Nobody knows why we get short bills, as far as we can tell these are not the result of injuries as they look normal, just short, this one measured 49.6mm (tip to feather). Despite being a 'shorty' this bird weighed in at a respectable 330gms. Nigel Jones of the New Forest Woodcock Group has also caught a shorty this winter.