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{{Short description|Genus of woodpeckers}}
{{About||the wry neck medical condition|torticollis|the warship|HMS Wryneck (D21){{!}}HMS ''Wryneck'' (D21)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Wrynecks
| image = Wryneck, Village, Behlolpur, district Mohali, Punjab, India.JPG| 
| image_caption = [[Eurasian wryneck]] (''Jynx torquilla'') Punjab, India
| taxon = Jynx
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| type_species = ''Jynx torquilla'' ([[Eurasian wryneck]])
| type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = 
''[[Jynx torquilla]]''<br />
''[[Jynx ruficollis]]''
| range_map = Jynx torquilla distr .png
| range_map_caption = Range map for Eurasian wryneck 
| range_map2 = Jynx ruficollis map.jpg
| range_map2_caption = Range map for red-necked wryneck<br/>{{legend0|#F7A229|Summer|border=solid 1px black}} {{legend0|#53A27B|Resident|border=solid 1px black}} {{legend0|#5379F6|Winter|border=solid 1px black}}
}}

The '''wrynecks''' (genus '''''Jynx''''') are a small but distinctive group of small [[Old World]] [[woodpecker]]s. ''Jynx''  is from the [[Ancient Greek]] ''iunx'', the [[Eurasian wryneck]].

These [[bird]]s get their [[English language|English]] name from their ability to turn their heads almost 180°. When disturbed at the nest, they use this [[snake]]-like head twisting and hissing as a threat display. It has occasionally been called "snake-bird" for that reason.<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Wryneck|volume=28|page=854|first=Alfred|last=Newton|author-link=Alfred Newton}}</ref>

Like the true woodpeckers, wrynecks have large heads, long tongues, which they use to extract their [[insect]] prey, and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward and two backwards, but they lack the stiff tail feathers that the true woodpeckers use when climbing trees, so they are more likely than their relatives to perch on a branch rather than an upright trunk. The sexes have a similar appearance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/woodpeckers-wrynecks-and-piculets-picidae|title=Woodpeckers, Wrynecks, and Piculets (Picidae) &#124; Encyclopedia.com|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>

Their bills are shorter and less dagger-like than in the true woodpeckers, but their chief prey is [[ant]]s and other insects, which they find in decaying wood or almost bare soil. They reuse woodpecker holes for nesting, rather than making their own holes. The eggs are white, as with many hole nesters.

The two species have cryptic plumage, with intricate patterning of greys and browns. The adult moults rapidly between July and September, although some moult continues in its winter quarters.<ref>''RSPB Handbook of British Birds'' (2014). UK. {{ISBN|978-1-4729-0647-2}}.</ref>

==Taxonomy and etymology==
The [[woodpecker]]s are an ancient bird family consisting of three subfamilies, the wrynecks, the [[piculet]]s and the true woodpeckers, [[Picinae]]. [[DNA sequencing]] and [[Phylogenetics|phylogenetic analysis]] show that the wrynecks are a sister [[clade]] to other woodpeckers including the Picinae and probably diverged early from the rest of the family.<ref name="gorman3">Gorman (2022) p. 3.</ref>

The wryneck subfamily Jynginae has one genus, ''Jynx'', introduced in 1758 by Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|10th edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Linnaeus |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Linnaeus |year=1758 |title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis |volume=1 |edition=10th |page=112 |publisher=Laurentii Salvii |location=Holmiae (Stockholm) |language=Latin |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727017 }}</ref> Linnaeus placed a single species in the genus, the [[Eurasian wryneck]] (''Jynx torquilla''), which is therefore the [[type species]].<ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1948 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=6 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts  | page=86 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14477519 }}</ref> The genus name ''Jynx'' is from the [[Ancient Greek]] name for the Eurasian wryneck, ''ιυγξ'', ''[[iynx|iunx]]'', and ''ruficollis'' is from the Latin {{Lang|la|rufus}}, "rufous" and {{Lang|la|collum}} "neck".<ref name="job">{{cite book |last=Jobling |first=James A |year=2010 |title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names |url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling |publisher=Christopher Helm |location=London |isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n212 212], [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n341/mode/2up 341] }}</ref> The English "wryneck" refers to the habit of birds in this genus of twisting and writhing their necks when agitated. It was first recorded in 1585.<ref name="oed">{{OED|Wryneck}}</ref>
The red-throated wryneck was first identified by German ornithologist [[Johann Georg Wagler]] in 1830.<ref name="wagler">{{cite book |last1=Wagler |first1=Johann Georg |title=Naturliches System der Amphibien |publisher=J. G. Cotta'schen |series= |volume= |edition= |year=1830 |location=Munich |page=118 |language=German |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48675921#page/126/mode/1up |isbn= }}</ref><ref name="gorman35">Gorman (2022) pp. 35–36.</ref> It is also known as the rufous-necked wryneck or red-breasted wryneck.<ref name="woodies38">Gorman (2014) pp. 38–39.</ref> 

The two wrynecks form a [[superspecies]] that probably separated early in their evolution from the piculets,<ref name="gorman3" /> although there has subsequently been only limited divergence between the ''Jynx'' species.<ref name="gorman39">Gorman (2022) pp. 39–40.</ref><ref name="Tarboton">{{cite journal |last1=Tarboton |first1=Warwick |title=Aspects of the Biology of ''Jynx ruficollis'' |year=1976 |volume=47 |issue=2–3 |journal=The Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology |pages=99–112 |doi=10.1080/00306525.1976.9639545 |bibcode=1976Ostri..47...99T }}</ref>

===Fossil record===
The woodpecker family appears to have diverged from other [[Piciformes]] about fifty million years ago,<ref name="gorman3" /> and a 2017 study considered that the split between ''Jynx'' and other woodpeckers occurred about 22.5{{nbs}}million years ago.<ref name= shakya>{{cite journal |last1=Shakya |first1=S B |last2=Fuchs |first2=J |last3=Pons |first3=J-M |last4=Sheldon |first4=F H |year=2017 |title=Tapping the woodpecker tree for evolutionary insight |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=116 |issue= |pages=182–191 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2017.09.005 |pmid=28890006 |doi-access=free }}</ref> A fossil dating from the early [[Miocene]], more than twenty million years ago, consisting of the [[Anatomical terms of location#Proximal and distal|distal]] end of a [[tarsometatarsus]] had some ''Jynx''-like features, but was classed as an early piculet.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=De Pietri |first1=Vanesa L |last2=Manegold |first2=Albrecht |last3=Costeur |first3=Loïc |last4=Mayr |first4=Gerald |year=2011 |title=A new species of woodpecker (Aves; Picidae) from the early Miocene of Saulcet (Allier, France) |journal=[[Swiss Journal of Palaeontology]] |volume=130 |issue=2 |pages=307–314 |doi=10.1007/s13358-011-0021-8 |s2cid=129249316 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2011SwJP..130..307D }}</ref> By the [[Pliocene]] (five million years ago) woodpeckers were similar to those now extant. Fossil wrynecks are known from Europe in the [[Pleistocene]], between 2.6{{nbs}}million and 11,700 years ago.<ref name="gorman3" />

===Species===
The two species in ''Jynx'' are restricted to the [[Palearctic]] [[biogeographic realm]] and Africa. The Eurasian wryneck breeds across temperate Europe and Asia, and one of only two [[Old World]] woodpeckers to undertake long-distance [[bird migration|migration]] mainly wintering in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia.<ref name="gorman104">Gorman (2022) pp. 104–106.</ref> The rufous-necked wryneck has a disjunct distribution confined to sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name="gorman39" /> It is resident, although there may be local movements and post-breeding dispersal.<ref name="gorman42">Gorman (2022) p. 42.</ref> Both wrynecks have several geographical [[subspecies]].<ref name="gorman35"/><ref name="gorman4">Gorman (2022) pp. 4–6.</ref>


{{Species table |genus=Jynx  |authority-name=[[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] |authority-year=[[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]] |species-count=two|no-note=y|narrow-percent=75}}

{{Species table/row
|name= Eurasian wryneck|binomial=[[Jynx torquilla]]
|image=File:Wryneck by Pepe Reigada.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=Linnaeus |authority-year=1758 |authority-not-original=
|range= [[Palearctic]] from the [[Arctic Circle]] south to Spain, Algeria, Morocco, southern [[Siberia]], Central Asia, Japan and southern China.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /><ref name=BirdLife>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=538 |title=Eurasian Wryneck ''Jynx torquilla'' |author1=Butchart, S. |author2=Ekstrom, J. |publisher=BirdLife International |access-date=2013-08-06 |archive-date=2016-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021202343/http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=538 }}</ref> Winters south of the [[Sahara]] from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, and in tropical South and Southeast Asia.<ref name="gorman4"/>
|range-image=File:Jynx torquilla distr.png
|range-image-size=180px
|size={{convert|17|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Witherby>{{cite book |title=Handbook of British Birds, Volume 2: Warblers to Owls |editor-last=Witherby |editor-first=H. F. |year=1943 |publisher=H. F. and G. Witherby Ltd. |pages=292–296 }}</ref><br />{{convert|26|to|50|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref name = "CRC">''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), {{ISBN|978-0-8493-4258-5}}.</ref>
|habitat=Open countryside and gardens, especially with some old trees.<ref name=Witherby/>
|hunting=Mainly ants<ref name=Witherby/>
|iucn-status= LC
|population=
|direction=
|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Six subspecies |bullets=on
|''J. t.  torquilla'' Linnaeus, 1758
|''J. t. chinensis'' [[Richard Hesse|Hesse]], 1911
|''J. t.  himalayana'' [[Charles Vaurie|Vaurie]], 1959
|''J. t.  mauretanica'' [[Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild|Rothschild]], 1909
|''J. t.  sarudnyi'' [[Harald von Loudon|Loudon]], 1912
|''J. t.  tschusii'' [[Otto Kleinschmidt|Kleinschmidt]], 1907
}}
}}

{{Species table/row
|name=Red-throated wryneck |binomial=[[Jynx ruficollis]]
|image=File:Red-throated Wryneck, Jynx ruficollis at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa (14564203969).jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=Wagler |authority-year=1830 |authority-not-original=yes
|range= Resident in sub-Saharan Africa<ref name="gorman39" /> from [[Nigeria]], [[Cameroon]], [[Central African Republic]] and [[Ethiopia]] south to [[South Africa]] and [[Eswatini]].<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Jynx ruficollis'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22680689A92872725 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680689A92872725.en |access-date= }}</ref>
|range-image=File:Jynx ruficollis map.jpg
|range-image-size=180px
|size={{convert|19|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length. Male{{convert|52|–|59|g|oz|abbr=on}} Female {{convert|46|–|52|g|oz|abbr=on}}
|habitat=
|hunting=
|iucn-status= LC
|population=
|direction=
|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Three subspecies |bullets=on
|''J. r. ruficollis'' Wagler, 1830
|''J. r. aequatorialis'' [[Eduard Rüppell|Ruppell]], 1842
|''J. r. pulchricollis'' [[Gustav Hartlaub|Hartlaub]], 1884
}}
}}
{{Species table/end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==Cited texts==
* {{cite book |last1=Gorman |first1=Gerard |title=Woodpeckers of the World |publisher=Christopher Helm |series=Helm Photographic Guides |year=2014 |location=London |isbn=978-1-4081-4715-3 |ref=none }}
* {{cite book|last1=Gorman|first1=Gerard|title=The Wryneck |year=2022 |publisher=Pelagic |location=Exeter |isbn=978-1-78427-288-3 |ref=none }}
==External links==
{{Wikispecies|Jynx}}
* [http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/287_WryneckJtorquilla.pdf Ageing and sexing of Eurasian wryneck (PDF; 4.6 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze]
* Fernández Fernández, Álvaro (2015), [http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CFCG/article/view/48488 «La ἴυγξ mediadora: ornitología, magia amorosa, mitología y teología caldaico-neoplatónica»], ''Cuadernos de Filología Clásica. Estudios griegos e indoeuropeos'', 25: p. 223-271.

{{Cavitaves|Pi.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q31818}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Wrynecks|*]]
[[Category:Picidae]]