WRYNECK. 11 



neck chiefly takes the ants from the ground, or from amongst 

 a mass at the foot or stem of a tree, but they do not run 

 up the tree in pursuit of food after the manner of the 

 woodpeckers. 



When caged, the Wryneck will live on ants' eggs mixed 

 with germ an paste ; but as few persons possess suitable con- 

 veniences for keeping these birds in confinement, it is only 

 proper to observe that they will only live a short time if so 

 confined, and as their song will not repay the care and trouble 

 required in attending upon them, they are more useful in 

 their natural unconfined state. 



The Wryneck measures from seven to seven and a 

 half inches in length ; the beak is small only measuring six 

 lines in length, three and a half lines in breadth at the 

 base, and two lines thick, being a little compressed at the 

 sides. The colour of the beak is raw amber, with the in- 

 side more inclining to yellow and clearer. The nostrils 

 are bean-shaped, and are placed close together in a soft skin 

 near the root of the beak, the corners of which latter, as 

 well as the chin, being furnished with a few thin black bristles. 

 The iris is a bright yellowish brown in the adult bird, and 

 greyish in the young ones. The tongue of the Wryneck 

 is like that of the woodpecker, terminating in a very elastic 

 tube down the throat, and tapering to a horny point for- 

 ward ; but the tip is without barbs, and thus differs in that 

 respect from the woodpeckers. The softer parts of the 

 tongue are covered with a glutinous slimy substance, which 

 serves the bird instead of the before-mentioned barbs, 

 to enable it to secure its prey ; in length the tongue 

 measures three inches, and is of an orange colour, the same 

 as the swallow. The legs are rather stout, and they have 

 two toes before, and two behind, the outer of which are 

 longer than those of the woodpecker. The tarsi are bare 

 of feathers from the knee, and are ■ covered in front with 



