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, nnmhers 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 boundary-line, as it were, 

 between the fields and the heath. The Wryneck is not so ranch 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 fluttering 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 larvae, 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 a glutinous substance, is shot out and withdrawn so quickly that the ants' 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. Each 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 



