564 NESTING OF THE WEYNECK 



known by the name of Enimet-lniiitcr. In pursuit of ants it trips nimhly about the trunks 

 and branches of trees, picking them off neatly with its tongue as they run their untiring 

 course. It also frequents ant-hills, especially when the insects are bringing out their 

 pupae to lie in the sun, and swallows ants and pupse at a great pace. When, as in damp or 

 cold weather, the ants remain within their fortress, the Wryneck pecks briskly at the 

 hillock until it breaks its way through the fragile walls of the nest, and as the warlike 

 insects come rushing out to attack the intruder of their home and to repair damages, it 

 makes an excellent meal of them in spite of tlieir anger and their stings. 



When ants are scarce and scantily spread over the ground, the Wiyneck runs after 

 them in a very agile fashion ; but when it comes upon a well-stocked spot, it stands 

 motionless, with the exception of the head, which is darted rapidly in every direction, the 

 neck and central line of the back twisting in a manner that reminds the observer of a snake. 

 When captured or wounded, it will lie on its back, ruffle up its feathers, erect its neck, 

 and hiss so like an angry serpent that it is in some places known by the name of the 

 snake-bird. It is a bird of retiring habits, keeping itself mostly to the wooded parts of 

 the country, and esi^ecially favouring fir-woods where the ants most congregate, the dead 

 leaves of the fir-trees forming excellent material for their nests without the trouble 

 of cutting them to a proper length. 



As the food of this bird is so dependent on the ants, it only comes to this country when 

 the weather is warm enough to induce the ants to leave their winter quarters ; and as soon 

 as they begin to retire into their hiding-places, it takes its departure for warmer lands. 

 During the early part of the season they are rather sociable, and may be captured by 

 a good imitation of their call-note. 



Mr. Yarrell, however, seems to hold rather an opposite opinion, and says that " the 

 Wryneck is rather solitary in its habits, being very seldom seen associating with, or even 

 near, any other bird than its own single partner, and that too but lor a very limited portion 

 of the year." 



In captivity, the Wryneck is tolerably docile ; and when taken young can be perfectly 

 tamed. In some countries it is the fashion to tie a string to the leg of a tame Wryneck 

 and take it out for daily exercise for food, letting it run up the trees or on the ground in 

 search of insects. The little bird soon becomes accustomed to this kind of life, and when 

 the string is pulled returns to its owner, and runs about his clothes until he gives it per- 

 mission to take another excursion. 



The nest of the Wryneck is hardly deserving of that name, being merely composed of 

 chips of decaying wood. The eggs are laid in the hollow of a tree, not wholly excavated 

 by the bird, as is the case of the woodpeckers, its beak not l)eing sufficiently strong for 

 such a task, but adapted to the purpose from some already existing hole. 



From a letter of a correspondent to Mr. Yarrell, it seems that although the Wryneck 

 makes no nest, it does not hesitate in appropriating the deserted home of any other bird 

 which it may find in the hollow which it selects for nidification. The bird had chosen a 

 hole in an old apple-tree for that purpose, and the eggs were laid iipon a mass of hair, 

 moss, and fibrous roots, evidently a deserted nest of a redstart. The pertinacity with 

 which the Wryneck adhered to the tree was really extraordinary, for she suffered her nest 

 to be disturl:ed and replaced five times, and to be robbed four times of her eggs before 

 she would finally leave the spot. The number of eggs laid by the Wrj-neck is rather great, 

 as many as ten having often been found in a single nest. In the instance just mentioned, no 

 less than twenty-two eggs were taken at the four intervals. Their colour is beautiful white 

 with a pinky tinge, not uidike those of the kingfi,sher ; and as this pink colour is produced 

 by the yolk showing itself through the delicate shell, it is, of course, lost when the egg is 

 emptied of its contents. The plumage of this little bird, although devoid of brilliant 

 hues, and decked only with brown, lihick, and gr(!y, is really handsonu\ from the manner 

 in which those apparently sombre tints are disposed. In Yarrell's "British IJirds" the 

 markings of the AVryneck are given so concisely that they cannot be altered without 

 damage. " The top of the head greyish brown, barred across with streaks of darker brown 

 and white : neck, liack, rump, and upper tail-coverts grey, sjieckled with brown. From 

 the occiput {i.e. back of the head) down the middle line of the back of the neck and 



