American Woodcock by Majo San

Listen to the bird in this mural!

Painted: 10/21/2025

About the Mural: In this mural by artist Majo San, an American Woodcock peers out from a landscape of native New England aster and gray dogwood. As part of the Audubon Mural Project—a public-art initiative drawing attention to birds that are vulnerable to extinction from climate change—NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program and NYC Parks GreenThumb worked with the National Audubon Society, Gitler &_____ Gallery, and local artists to design murals in community gardens across the city. Through a collaborative process between the partners, artist, and garden group, each mural was designed to feature climate-threatened birds as well as native plants that birds depend on for food and shelter. By creating vibrant urban green spaces, community gardeners provide essential support for birds and people. Explore more murals from the collaboration here.

This mural was created with Discovery Community Garden 1, half of a pair of interlinked green spaces in Jamaica, Queens. Along with growing crops, the gardens host community events and youth programming to connect with the neighborhood. 

About the Bird: The American Woodcock is a beloved shorebird with a peculiar shape: a plump body, short legs, eyes set far back in the head, and a long bill that it uses to probe the ground for insects. These birds spend much of their time along the forest floor, where their brown plumage blends in seamlessly. Listen for their signature peent calls, or watch on spring and summer nights for males’ swooping sky dance displays.

Woodcocks are still fairly common, though they may be declining in the eastern United States. Climate change, however, poses further threats: If warming continues at its current pace, the species is projected to lose more than half its summer range, according to Audubon’s Survival By Degrees report. Taking action to limit climate change can help ensure these birds are able to thrive across a wider range of habitats in the future. Meanwhile, maintaining pockets of green space like community gardens—and populating them with native plants—can offer birds essential places to rest and refuel.

About the Artist: Majo San is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Mexico City and based in New York since 2018. She works on a range of projects including murals, paintings, installations, and tattoos, which often highlight texture and organic elements. Her pieces include themes of community, nature, the exploration of our minds, and how we relate with our world and reality, as well as contemplations of her spiritual practice rooted in Tibetan Buddhism. “I invite to not only see nature, but to feel it, and in that way, go deeper and strengthen our connection,” she says.

For her woodcock mural, she says she was drawn to the species’ beautiful plumage patterns and unusually long beak. The artist painted murals on both of the linked Discovery Community Gardens, and enjoyed spending time in the natural space—and eating produce shared with her by garden members. “It was a pleasure to meet the gardeners and see how they invest their time to nurture and share what they have,” she says.