Eurasian Wryneck

Voice

A nasal, plaintive series of six to fifteen identical notes: kyew-kyew-kyew-kyew, slowing slightly. Strikingly similar to the call series of small falcons, which is why the species is regularly overlooked. Calls mainly in late April and May, early morning and evening.

Identification

Grey-brown and finely marbled like tree bark, with a dark stripe down the crown and back and fine vermiculation below. A soft, rounded tail with faint barring — not the stiff prop tail of true woodpeckers. Often perches lengthwise along a branch or sits on the ground at ant nests.

Confusion species

On the ground, posture and colour can briefly suggest a Nightjar or a large warbler. Other woodpeckers are ruled out instantly by the absence of red, white and black and by the climbing technique.

Habitat

Warm open woodland and woodland edge, old orchards, heath with scattered trees and dry sandy ground. The decisive factor is short, open ground rich in ants; it nests in existing cavities and readily takes nest boxes.

Range and movements

Breeds from Iberia to Siberia; winters in the Sahel. In the Netherlands a very scarce breeding bird of the Veluwe and Drenthe, but a regular migrant in August and September, especially in the coastal dunes.

• Resident
• Breeding (summer)
• Winter
• Passage
• Migration direction
• dark = core range, pale = thinly spread

Where and when to look

Breeding birds: late April to mid-May, by voice — anyone who does not know the call will walk straight past. Migrants: late August and September, often on the ground in dune scrub, gardens and along paths, flying off low when flushed and diving straight back into cover.

Conservation status

Not globally threatened (IUCN: Least Concern), but sharply declining in north-west Europe and now virtually gone as a widespread breeder in the Netherlands. The decline is tied to the loss of nutrient-poor, ant-rich ground, traditional orchards and small-scale management.