The Eurasian Wryneck – 10,000 Birds

Within the woodpecker highschool yearbook, the Eurasian Wryneck is described as “more than likely to be became a low-end sock puppet”. Not very flattering, however then such entries incessantly aren’t.

Myself, I used to be as soon as known as “Mr. Adverse”, although not in a highschool yearbook however reasonably at certainly one of my employers, a administration consultancy. Not a recipe for fulfillment in that job, I can verify.

Wrynecks hardly ever star in motion motion pictures – you possibly can see here why. Whereas the unique video high quality made it appear to be it was taken from a ship (it was not), I simply developed some rudimentary video enhancing abilities, making watching the video marginally extra bearable.

Their intercourse life is equally unspectacular. Much like different woodpeckers, monogamy is the norm on this species – in one study, lower than 1% of all chicks have been extra-pair younger. The abundance of extra-pair paternity is low, and solely 0.68% of all younger [n = 292] have been extra-pair younger. A pity, as this severely limits the potential of low-budget jokes about wrynecks turning their heads towards extramarital companions.

Nonetheless, the wryneck is an attention-grabbing chook – so attention-grabbing that there’s a entire ebook about it which Donna has reviewed for 10,000 Birds. In stated overview, Donna feedback on “the woodpecker that doesn’t appear to be a woodpecker, the chook with the portmanteau identify that can be a medical situation (and which can remind some folks of a Nora Ephron essay). It’s a singular chook, even its scientific identify is fantastic …”

Just lately, I watched a wryneck carrying two snails on its physique. Sadly, my unique concept that these snails have been saved as pets by the wryneck (in any case, in contrast to for me, retaining a cat as a pet is just not very wise for a chook) was dismissed by extra certified birders who advised that the chook was most likely too exhausted from migration to eliminate the snails.

Additionally as video … or one other video … each very related, so no level in watching each … However you possibly can watch the snails truly transferring within the movies.

Sadly, the title of a paper on Wrynecks (“Why does the Wryneck Jynx torquilla bring strange items to the nest?”) might be extra attention-grabbing than the reply given within the paper itself (“The tendency to carry unusual objects to the nest shouldn’t be thought to be adaptative conduct supplementing the eating regimen of the nestlings, however because the consequence of an error or mistake within the launch of the selecting up sample within the dad or mum chook”, or in my very own phrases, the mother and father fucked up).

One other paper describes a Wryneck consuming a chook – a little bit of a deviation from the same old eating regimen of (primarily) ants.

Apparently, in early Greece, the wryneck was related to charms and potions supposed to recuperate the misplaced affection of a lover (source). Why? Ask ChatGPT, not me.

A attribute of the wryneck is its skill to show its head by nearly 180 levels. This has led to the German phrase for the chook (“Wendehals”) getting a further metaphorical which means. In the course of the interval of reunification within the GDR in 1989, individuals who rapidly modified their acknowledged opinions from pro-GDR to pro-Western have been known as “Wendehals”, folks fast to show their necks round (source).

Sadly, the wryneck is among the species affected by large trapping in nations corresponding to Egypt and Libya (source). Disgrace on the individuals who do that.

One other video of a wryneck starring as a reasonably lazy chook …

I’m absolutely conscious that most of the readers of my posts solely scan by the chook images and bird-related factoids, trying as an alternative for my feedback on various music. So, listed below are some ideas concerning the long-awaited The Nationwide album, “The primary two pages of Frankenstein”. Properly – elements of it sound like a 3rd Taylor Swift various album (although one principally consisting of B sides), what with acoustic guitar intros, no actual drums, and a reasonable tempo. Good, however not fairly what I’d have wished for from The Nationwide.

The lyrics appear to be suffused with delicate to reasonable middle-aged male despair (one thing I can relate to fairly properly). Typical strains: “I used to be struggling greater than I let on” or ” I’m right here, kicking myself to maintain from crying”. I miss the drums, although – apart from these in “Eucalyptus”, which I really feel is the one stand-out observe right here (which is a little bit of a disappointment in itself).

So, I hope I’ve glad my readers – if you’re extra into bird-related data, please try my overview of the earlier The Nationwide album within the New Musical Specific, which has an in-depth dialogue of speciation points in Phylloscopus warblers.

And a closing video – not of The Nationwide however (unusually) of a wryneck. Because the images, all movies on this publish have been taken at Nanhui, Shanghai in April 2023.