THE WRYNECKS. 
17 
An Great Britain. — A summer visitor, arriving early in 
'u tl* ’ leaving in September. It is principally to be found 
andT of England, but becomes rarer in the Midlands, 
the north it must be considered a scarce bird, though 
it occurred in most of the Scottish counties, and 
In "'ith in the Orlsiicy and Shetland Islands, 
and f'as been noted but twice, in the summer of 1878, 
again in the Arran Islands, on the 6th of October, 1886. 
out “atsido the British Islands. — Generally distributed through- 
Sca having reached even to the Fteroe Islands. In 
nei ) ^''la it is found up to 62° N. lat., and it also visits the 
®j^h°urhood of Archangel, but is not found so far to the 
Sib • Asiatic range, which is believed to extend across 
.^^oria to Kamtchatka and the Japanese Islands. The Asiatic 
as "as for a long time believed to be a different species, 
no\v ^porewhat smaller than the European bird, but it is 
B to be identical with the latter (cf. Hargitt, Cat. 
Afri Mus. xviii. p. 560). In winter our Wryneck' retires to 
urio-i-^’ SO ®o far south as many of our European 
in '*■ *^of known to wander farther than Kordofan 
Africa, and Senegambia on the west coast, 
gyj. hiss most of the Wrynecks, which breed in Northern 
no farther in winter than to Northern Afriea, 
re„av 1 niost of the Mediterranean countries the species is 
homeq^ f ^ ° 1 ' Passage only. In the East, the winter 
Indian n species appear to be in the northern parts of the 
veninsula and in Southern China. 
the o', the faet of its arriving about the same time as 
“ Cucko ’ Wryneck has acquired its popular name of 
early as ^ Mate.” It has been said to reach this country as 
It is donh f 1 ° occur during the winter months, 
taken fo n however, whether the species has not been mis- 
in n-. . I't^^sur Spotted Woodpeeker, which is a resident 
®a,si]y g Britain. The cry of the latter species might 
-1- . mistaken for that of the Wryneck, when heard in the 
tlepth 
In 
°f winter. 
"Bee-pee ” ?I fBe south of England the bird is called the 
fupeated b curious note, which is a musical and oft- 
3 uration of the above syllables. It visits the neigh- 
