Wryneck  (Jynx torquilla)

The wryneck is distributed across most of Europe, into Russia and parts of central Asia. It breeds as far north as Northern Finland, but the UK is at the extreme north-western edge of its European range and it is most often seen here as a passage migrant. It was thought that there were upwards of 200 – 400 pairs in Britain during the 1950s, but this figure dropped during the 60s and, by 1973, there was only a single breeding pair. Since then, numbers of wryneck breeding in Britain have been low and sporadic.

Wrynecks have a preference for old woods and orchards, the chief requirement being a reliable source of ants, the birds’ main food. On passage, however, they can turn up almost anywhere across the UK, and have been reported from gardens, woods, and coastal paths.