Potters Bar & Barnet Local RSPB Group

 

 

The Wryneck

 

by Sally Bennett

 

 

The wryneck (Jynx torquilla) is on the Red Data List  of endangered species. It is not a British native but is sometimes seen in small numbers on autumn passage in August and September, and occasionally also in May.

 

Imagine our delight then when towards the end of August, when we were having a couple of days stopover on Dartmoor en route to Cornwall, we saw one sitting on a drystone wall on a remote part of the moor.

 

The wryneck is about the size of a sparrow and looks greyish at first glance.  Closer inspection reveals brown and buff mottling and a dark band running from the back of the head down the back.  They are ground feeders, preferring ants.  The name is derived from their ability to turn their head through 180 degrees.

 

 

                                                                Sue Tranter rspb-images.com ©

 

 

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