The Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla) is a woodpecker that does not peck, a masterfully camouflaged ant specialist that can twist its head in a snake-like fashion and gives a ringing, raptor-like call, setting it apart markedly from Sweden's other woodpeckers. It measures 16-18 cm in length, has a wingspan of about 25-27 cm, and weighs 30-50 grams. The plumage is finely patterned in grey, brown and black, resembling bark or dry leaves so closely that the bird is difficult to spot against a trunk. A dark band runs along the back and hindcrown, the tail is finely barred, and the bill is short and pointed rather than chisel-shaped like other woodpeckers'. Unlike its relatives, it does not climb tree trunks in the typical woodpecker manner and is often seen on the ground instead.
The wryneck's call, a ringing, nasal and somewhat plaintive series of "ke-ke-ke-ke-ke" notes recalling a small falcon or superficially a cuckoo, is heard mainly in May and June, chiefly at dawn and dusk, and can carry surprisingly far. It occurs across most of Sweden from Götaland to Norrland, though patchily, with a national population in the tens of thousands of pairs; the species has declined in parts of Europe. A migrant, it arrives late in April or May and departs in August for tropical Africa. It is a hole-nester but never excavates its own cavity, instead relying on natural tree holes, old woodpecker holes or nest boxes with a sufficiently wide entrance. The female lays a large clutch, often 7-10 eggs, incubated for around 11-14 days; when the nest is threatened, both chicks and adults twist their head and neck snake-like, a behaviour thought to deter predators. Food consists almost entirely of ants and their pupae and larvae, gathered on the ground and at anthills with a long, sticky tongue.
Read about this species in Swedish →