Eurasian Wryneck
Encyclopedia
The Eurasian Wryneck, Jynx torquilla, is a species of wryneck
in the family of woodpecker
s.
This species breeds in temperate regions of Europe
and Asia
. It is migratory
, wintering in tropical Africa
and southern Asia
. It is a bird of open woodland and orchards. On migration it is frequently seen in sandy areas, where it forages for ant
s.
This species measure 16–18 cm (6.3–7.1 in) in length and weighs 26–50 g (0.917123014732911–1.8 oz). Their bills are shorter and less dagger-like than in the other woodpeckers, but their chief prey is ant
s and other insects, which they find in decaying wood or almost bare soil. They re-use woodpecker holes for nesting, rather than making their own holes. The eggs are white, as with many hole nesters.
These bird
s get their English
name from their ability to turn their heads almost 180 degrees. When disturbed at the nest, they use this snake
-like head twisting and hissing as a threat display. This odd behaviour led to their use in witchcraft, hence to put a "jinx
" on someone.
There are six subspecies:
Wryneck
The wrynecks are a small but distinctive group of small Old World woodpeckers.Like the true woodpeckers, wrynecks have large heads, long tongues which they use to extract their insect prey and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backwards...
in the family of woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
s.
This species breeds in temperate regions of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. It is migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, wintering in tropical Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. It is a bird of open woodland and orchards. On migration it is frequently seen in sandy areas, where it forages for ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s.
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s and other insects, which they find in decaying wood or almost bare soil. They re-use woodpecker holes for nesting, rather than making their own holes. The eggs are white, as with many hole nesters.
These bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s get their English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
name from their ability to turn their heads almost 180 degrees. When disturbed at the nest, they use this snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
-like head twisting and hissing as a threat display. This odd behaviour led to their use in witchcraft, hence to put a "jinx
Jinx
A jinx, in popular superstition and folklore, is:* A type of curse placed on a person that makes them prey to many minor misfortunes and other forms of bad luck;...
" on someone.
There are six subspecies:
- Jynx torquilla chinensis Hesse, 1911
- Jynx torquilla himalayana Vaurie, 1959
- Jynx torquilla mauretanica Rothschild, 1909
- Jynx torquilla sarudnyi Loudon, 1912
- Jynx torquilla torquilla Linnaeus, 1758
- Jynx torquilla tschusii O. Kleinschmidt,1907