- Eurasian Wryneck
Taxobox| name = Eurasian Wryneck
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Piciformes
familia =Picidae
subfamilia =Jynginae
genus = "Jynx"
species = "J. torquilla"
binomial = "Jynx torquilla"
binomial_authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)The Eurasian Wryneck, "Jynx torquilla", is a species of
wryneck in the family ofwoodpecker s.This species breeds in temperate regions of
Europe andAsia . It is migratory, wintering in tropicalAfrica and southernAsia . It is a bird of open woodland and orchards. On migration it is frequently seen in sandy areas, where it forages forant s.Their bills are shorter and less dagger like than in the true 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 thissnake -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
* "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,1907External links
* [http://www.oiseaux.net/birds/photos/wryneck.html Oiseaux] Photos
* [http://www.ibercajalav.net/img/287_WryneckJtorquilla.pdf Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta]
* [http://www.bsc-eoc.org/avibase/species.jsp?lang=EN&id=C160E035DCFBC52F&ts=1221038449434&sec=summary Avibase]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.