Eurasian Wryneck

This bird, slightly larger than a sparrow, belongs to the Picidae family (along with, e.g. woodpeckers). Its inconspicuous plumage blends with the bark of trees. The wryneck often moves about the denuded ground or low vegetation, searching for ants. Some wrynecks in fact feed exclusively on ant larvae and adults. When disturbed, the bird will stretch across the length of its body (including the neck), erect its crown feathers, spread its tail, squint and very slowly turn its head first in one, and then in the opposite direction – a threatening gesture which has earned the bird its name. The wryneck is the only migratory Picidae member in our country. Its wintering grounds are in tropical Africa north of the equator, though it will in rare cases spend the winter in the Mediterranean.