The Wryneck: Biology, Behaviour, Conservation and Symbolism of Jynx torquilla

The Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) and the African Red-throated Wryneck (J. ruficollis) constitute a distinctive lineage within the woodpecker family, separate from the piculets and the “true” woodpeckers. Whether they most closely resemble the ancestral line or evolved away from the rest of the woodpeckers, which seem to have originated in Eurasia, is uncertain, but wryneck fossils from the Pleistocene have been found in several parts of Europe. Wrynecks have soft tail feathers, a smaller, weaker bill not used for hammering or excavating, absence of the skull features that protect the woodpeckers that do, and an entirely terrestrial diet of ants. Their name comes from their habit of twisting their neck when disturbed or threatened, as well as hissing, so that to potential attackers they may resemble a snake. The Eurasian Wryneck has a vast breeding range, currently from the European mainland and a few bits...