Laura Erickson's For the Birds

One of my most treasured traditions for decades was going out listening for woodcocks at my mother-in-law’s place in Port Wing Wisconsin every spring. The air would be filled with frog music and woodcocks peenting. The subtle little hiccup that precedes most peents is inaudible unless you’re very close.

The American Woodcock and its European counterpart have an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records:

American (and European) Woodcock: Slowest flying bird. The slowest-flying birds are the American woodcock (Scolopax minor) and the Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), which have been timed during their courtship displays at 8 km/h (5 mph) without stalling.

I am not sure why these birds are considered the slowest when you consider that such birds as kestrels, harriers, Rough-legged Hawks, and just about every hummingbird have been clocked going ZERO miles per hour without stalling when they hover.