WRYNECK. 373 
and as this date is almost coincident with that of the Cuckoo’s appearance, 
the bird has received the name of “ Cuckoo’s mate” or “ Cuckoo’s mes- 
senger.” It leaves us rather early, numbers go southwards in the beginning 
of September, and most have left by the end of that month. From its 
shy and retiring habits, and the unassuming colours of its plumage, the 
Wryneck is often overlooked. It frequents most districts where there is 
a sufficient number of trees and tall bushes to afford it shelter. It is 
fond of haunting old orchards, plantations and parks, large gardens, and 
fields which are surrounded by tall hedges. It sometimes strays as far as 
the moorlands, where it frequents the little clumps of stunted trees and 
the bushes on the rough broken ground, the houndary-line, as it were, 
between the fields and the heath. The Wryneck is not so much a forest 
bird as the Woodpeckers, and it frequents the slender branches almost as 
much as the broad limbs and the trunks. Dixon has watched this bird 
hopping about amongst the slender sprays, picking insects from the leaves, 
and occasionally fluttermg into the air to catch a passing fly. It is a 
rather shy bird, and it is seldom that more than a pair are seen in 
company. It is not often seen on the wing, except when passing from 
tree to tree, and its flight is undulating. It is often seen to alight on 
the trunks of large trees, where it will sit for a few moments quite still, 
with its body placed sideways, and receiving no support from its tail; 
but it is generally seen perched crosswise on a slender branch. 
The Wryneck feeds almost exclusively on insects, especially ants, and 
may often be observed on the ground, generally on or near an ant-hill, 
where it busily searches for the larve, which appear to be its favourite 
food. It progresses in a series of short hops or leaps, sometimes assisted 
by its wings, and the tail is frequently jerked to and fro. When busy 
feeding it keeps almost motionless; the long tongue, which is covered with 
a glutinous substance, is shot out and withdrawn so quickly that the ants’ 
eggs seem attracted to it by some magnetic power. Lach time the tongue 
is protruded several eggs adhere to it and are at once conveyed into the 
mouth, and the tongue is shot out again and again with marvellous speed. 
As the bird so frequently feeds on the ground, and especially on ant-hills, 
numerous particles of earth and gravel stick to its tongue, so that its 
stomach contains a greater amount of grit than is usually the case with 
insect-feeding birds. The Wryneck is also a sworn enemy of the ants 
themselves. When in Algeria Dixon several times flushed this bird from 
the barley-fields, where it had been feeding on the ants, which in a narrow 
stream of countless millions were passing to and fro conveying the grain 
to their nests. It also picks these insects from the bark and leaves of 
trees, and is said sometimes to eat elderberries, Although the Wryneck’s 
bill is stout and strong it does not bore into the decayed wood in search 
of food, like the Woodpeckers, but contents itself with picking insects 
