Red-throated Wryneck

Jynx ruficollis

Woodland. Above speckled brown and black; below rufous throat and upper breast on creamy-white.

Wrynecks

Not Endemic

Description

Common, localised resident. Identified by rust-brown patch on throat and upper breast, and brown-speckled upper parts with blackish broken line from crown to mantle. The call, frequently uttered, is a high-pitched ‘kek-kek-kek-kek’. Occurs singly or in pairs in various types of woodland and in suburbia, often in wattle trees (Australian Acacia spp.). Creeps about branches like a woodpecker, perches like a passerine or hops about the ground with its tail raised.

Quick Facts

Bird Family

Although related to woodpeckers, wrynecks to not excavate nests but use natural tree cavities or the disused nests of barbets and woodpeckers. They feed on ants and termites, using their long tongues to extract grubs from holes and bark. Wrynecks, like woodpeckers, have two toes facing forward and two backwards, enabling them to climb and creep along branches while foraging for food; however, they lack the strong, supportive tails of woodpeckers so tend to perch more. Wrynecks can turn their heads almost 360º, from which their common name derives.