Woodcock, belonging to the genus Scolopax, were once a prized game bird in Europe and North America, frequently featured in high-end restaurants and on banquet menus during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their rich, distinctive flavor and small size made them a delicacy, often served whole, sometimes with the trail (guts) intact, following traditional culinary practices.
Harvested primarily by shooting during regulated hunting seasons, woodcock were targeted both by sport hunters and professional market hunters. Their decline from restaurant menus resulted from a combination of overhunting, habitat loss due to agricultural expansion and drainage of wetlands, and evolving wildlife conservation laws, most notably the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 in the United States, which severely restricted commercial sale and hunting practices.
As wild woodcock populations diminished and legal restrictions increased, their availability in restaurants ceased, and they became largely absent from modern culinary settings.