LA STRUTTURA DEMOGRAFICA DELLA BECCACCIA (SCOLOPAX RUSTICOLA) IN ITALIA, UN DECENNIO DI OSSERVAZIONI 2010-2019 [Demographic structure of woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) in Italy, ten years of observations 2010-2019 ]

The hunting data of the woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) in Italy in the period 2010-2019 were analyzed.The data were provided by expressly trained hunters. To determine the demographic structure of the population, the hunters delivered to the “official readers of wings” for Italy 33,355 envelopes containing the dry wing of each downed woodcock. Each wing was analyzed, considering the wear of all categories of wing feathers and the wetsuit suspension, through the Boidot method. Each envelope contained the date and hunting place, the weight and the sex of the woodcock downed. The distribution of the withdrawals in the hunting decades (ten-days periods) has been described. The demographic structure was studied by classifying the samples based on gender and age (young woodcocks: born in the year, and adults: born in previous years). Further 5 age groups were considered for the young woodcocks, and 3 groups for adult ones. Sex ratios and age ratios were calculated over the years. The average body weight of woodcocks hunted in Italy was calculated, even over the decades (ten day periods). Body weight was also analyzed by gender, to highlight any differences between males and females.