Alternative names: Rufous-necked Wryneck; Rufous-breasted Wryneck; African Wryneck
- Jynx ruficollis
Identification
19cm (7½ in). A small, unusual woodpecker.
- Mottled grey and brown above
- Rufous throat and upper breast, extend of rufous variable
- Rest of underparts whitish with dark shaft streaks
- Whitish malar are with brown vermiculation
- Short pointed bill
Sexes similar.
Similar species
Eurasian Wryneck lacks the rufous throat and has more barred (rather than streaked) underparts.
Distribution
Patchily distributed in Sub Saharan Africa.
Locally common but often irregular occurence.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- J. r. ruficollis
- Southeastern Gabon east to Uganda, western Kenya, and northwestern Tanzania, south locally to northern and eastern Angola, northwestern Zambia and adjacent southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Mozambique, and eastern South Africa
- J. r. pulchricollis
- Southeastern Nigeria and Cameroon to northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and northwestern Uganda
- J. r. aequatorialis
- Highlands of Ethiopia
Habitat
Wooded grassland, savanna, woodland, forest edge, timber plantations and gardens.
Occurs from 600m up to 3000m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds mainly on ants and their pupae and eggs. Takes also other insects. Forages on tree barks and on the ground.
Breeding
Breeding season differs through range, often breeds twice a year. The nest is placed in an old barbet hole, a natural cavity or sometimes in a nestbox or another artifical cavity. Lays 3 to 4 eggs.
Movements
A resident in parts of its range, nomadic in others. Movements are poorly understood.
Vocalisation
Recording by jstanleyg
Ethiopia, August 2016
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 14.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.14.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and J Sargatal, eds. 2002. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 7: Jacamars to Woodpeckers. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8487334375
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Red-throated Wryneck. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-throated_Wryneck
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
