THE WRYNECKS. 



17 



Hange in Great firitain. — A summer visitor, arriving early in 

 April, and leaving in September. It is principally to be found 

 in the south of England, but becomes rarer in the Midlands, 

 and farther north it must be considered a scarce bird, though 

 the species has occurred in most of the Scottish counties, and 

 it has been met with in the Orkney and Shetland Islands. 

 In Ireland it has been noted but twice, in the summer of 1878, 

 and again in the Arran Islands, on the 6th of October, 1886. 



Eange outside the British Islands. — Generally distributed through- 

 out Europe, having reached even to the Fceroe Islands. In 

 Scandinavia it is found up to 62° N. lat., and it also visits the 

 neighbourhood of Archangel, but is not found so far to the 

 north in its Asiatic range, which is believed to extend across 

 Siberia to Kamtchatka and the Japanese Islands. The Asiatic 

 Wryneck was for a long time believed to be a different species, 

 as it is somewhat smaller than the European bird, but it is 

 now considered to be identical with the latter (cf. Hargitt, Cat. 

 B. Brit. Mus. xviii. p. 560). In winter our Wryneck retires to 

 Africa, but does not go so far south as many of our European 

 migrants, as it is not known to wander farther than Kordofan 

 in North-east Africa, and Senegambia on the west coast. 

 Doubtless most of the Wrynecks, which breed in Northern 

 Europe, go no farther in winter than to Northern Africa, 

 though in most of the Mediterranean countries the species is 

 regarded as a bird of passage only. In the East, the winter 

 homes of the species appear to be in the northern parts of the 

 Indian Peninsula and in Southern China. 



Habits. — From the fact of its arriving about the same time as 

 the Cuckoo, the Wryneck has acquired its popular name of 

 " Cuckoo's Mate." It has been said to reach this country as 

 early as March, and even to occur during the winter months. 

 It is doubtful, however, whether the species has not been mis- 

 taken for the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, which is a resident 

 bird in Great Britain. The cry of the latter species might 

 easily be mistaken for that of the Wryneck, when heard in the 

 depth of winter. 



In many parts of the south of England the bird is called the 

 *'Pee-pee," from its curious note, which is a musical and oft- 

 repeated iteration of the above syllables. It visits the neigh- 

 8 c 



