244 OUR SUMMER MIGRANTS. 



neck its natural position is directly backwards, 

 parallel to the first. The bill of the latter more 

 nearly resembles that of Picus than that of 

 Cuculus, although it is not wedge-shaped at the 

 point. On the other hand the tail has no 

 resemblance to that of the Woodpecker. The 

 genus Jynx, therefore, seems to stand between 

 these two genera and to form as it were their 

 connecting link. 



The colour of the plumage so closely assimi- 

 lates to that of the bark and boughs of trees, 

 that it is often difficult to detect the bird when 

 in close proximity to such surroundings. But 

 although the Wryneck may be considered as 

 strictly a woodland bird, adapted by its pe- 

 culiar structure to climbing the. boles of trees 

 and probing the interstices of the bark for lurk- 

 ing insects, it nevertheless finds a considerable 

 portion of its food on the ground, and it 

 especially affects the neighbourhood of ant-hills, 

 where it preys largely on those insects and their 

 larvae. In this employment its remarkable 

 tongue, like that of the Woodpecker's, is of great 



