The WRY-NECK (_Yunx torquilla_) is of a light grey on the upper portion
of its body, marked and spotted with a deeper shade; the under side is
white, sparsely sprinkled with dark triangular spots; the entire throat
is yellow, with undulating markings; a black line passes from the crown of
the head to the lower part of the back, and the mantle is decorated with
numerous black and brown spots of various shades; the quills are striped
with reddish and blackish brown; the tail-feathers are sprinkled with
black, and relieved by five narrow, curved stripes; the eye is yellowish
brown; the beak and legs greenish yellow. In the young the coloration
is paler and the markings less delicate than in the adults; their eye
is greyish brown. This species is seven inches long and eleven broad;
the wing measures three inches and one-third, and the tail two inches
and a half. The actual habitat of the Wry-neck appears to be the central
parts of Europe and Asia. In a northerly direction it is found as far as
Scandinavia, and during its migrations often wanders as far as Egypt and
Eastern Soudan. Jerdon tells us that it is met with throughout all parts
of India during the winter.
[Illustration: THE WRY-NECK (_Yunx torquilla_).]
The Wry-neck, so called from its strange manner of turning its head,
so as to give its neck a twisted appearance, is commonly met with in
England, but is rare in Scotland, and, according to Yarrell, has not been
met with in Ireland. This species usually resorts to woodland districts,
fields, and gardens. "When found in its retreat in the hole of a tree,"
says the last-mentioned writer, "it makes a loud hissing noise, sets up
an elongated crest, and writhing its body and head towards each shoulder
alternately, with grotesque contortions, becomes an object of terror to a
timid intruder; and the bird, taking advantage of a moment of indecision,
darts with the rapidity of lightning from a situation whence escape seemed
impossible." Caterpillars and various insects, especially ants, constitute
the principal food of these birds. Bechstein states that they will eat
elder-berries. The young are easily tamed; and in France are often taken
from one tree to another, with a string fastened round the leg, to search
the bark for insects.
Colonel Montague thus describes the manner in which a female of this
species that he had tamed took its food:--"A quantity of mould with emmets
and their eggs was given to it; and it was curious to observe the tongue
darted forth and retracted with such velocity and such unerring aim that
it never returned without an ant or an egg adhering to it, not transfixed
by the horny points, but retained by a peculiar tenacious moisture
provided for that purpose. While feeding, the body is kept motionless,
only the head being turned from side to side; and the motion of the tongue
is so rapid that an ant's egg, which is of a light colour, and therefore
more conspicuous than the tongue, has the appearance of moving to the
mouth by attraction, as the needle flies to the magnet. The bill is
rarely used, except to remove the mould, in order to get more rapidly at
the insects where the earth is hollow. The tongue is thrust into all the
cavities to rouse the ants, and for this purpose the horny appendage is
extremely serviceable as a guide to the tongue."
The following interesting account of an attempt to drive a pair of these
birds from the nesting-place they had selected is given by Mr. Salmon,
in the _Magazine of Natural History:_--"I wished to obtain the eggs of
the Wry-neck to place in my cabinet, and accordingly watched a pair very
closely that had resorted to a garden in the village for the purpose of
incubation. I soon ascertained that they had selected a hole in a decayed
apple-tree for that purpose, the entrance to which was so small as not
to admit my hand. The tree being hollow and decayed near the ground, I
reached the nest by putting my arm upwards, and I found on withdrawing the
nest that the underneath part of it was composed of moss and hair, having
every appearance of being the deserted home of a Redstart; the upper part
was made of dry roots. The nest did not contain any eggs, and I returned
it by thrusting it up inside the tree. On passing the same way a week
afterwards my attention was arrested by observing one of the birds leaving
the hole; upon which I gently withdrew the nest, and was gratified to find
it contained five most beautifully glossy eggs, the shells of which were
perfectly white, and so transparent that the yolks shone through, giving
them a delicate pink hue. I replaced the nest and visited it during the
ensuing weeks, when, to my astonishment, I found that the birds had not
deserted the hole, but the female had six eggs more, which I obtained by
thrusting the nest up the tree. Next week I again visited the spot, and
found that they still pertinaciously adhered to their domicile, having
further laid four eggs more. I repeated the experiment, but not having
an opportunity of revisiting the spot until ten days after, I thought
at the time that the nest was abandoned, and was not undeceived till I
again withdrew the nest, having taken the precaution of endeavouring to
frighten off the old bird should she be within, which I found was the
case; nevertheless she suffered me to pull the nest to the bottom of the
tree before she attempted to escape. There were seven eggs slightly sat
upon. It seems to me very extraordinary that the female should allow her
nest to be disturbed five times, and the eggs (amounting to twenty-two) to
be taken away at different periods within the month, before she finally
abandoned the spot she had selected."
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