Diet
It feeds mainly on ants, their larvae and pupae, picking them up on the ground with its long, sticky tongue. It also eats other small animals without backbones. It does not usually peck at tree trunks to find food.
Eurasian wryneck
Jynx torquilla
Listen to the voice
Zauri Khachidze · Borjomi-Kharagauli National ParkGeorgia field photo
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 16–18 cm
- Diet
- Ants
- Status in Georgia
- Distribution confirmed in Kakheti, Adjara, and Mtskheta — Mtianeti
- Habitat
- Open woodland and edges
- Family
- Picidae
- Global status
- Least Concern
Jynx torquilla is a small bird in the woodpecker family. Unlike woodpeckers, it often looks for food on the ground. As of 2024, it nests in Georgia and is also seen there during spring and autumn migration. It is not dangerous to people. Its mottled, bark-colored feathers and the dark stripe running from the back of its head down its back can help you identify it.
Identification
How to identify Eurasian wryneck
It is a sparrow-sized, bark-colored bird in the woodpecker group. A dark stripe runs from the back of its head down its back. It has a short beak and a rounded tail. It does not look like a green or spotted woodpecker.
This species is about 16–18 cm long. The wing measures 80–95 mm, the tail 60–75 mm and the beak 15–16 mm. It weighs 30–45 g. Its wingspan is often about 25–30 cm. The beak is short and pointed; it does not resemble a woodpecker’s chisel-shaped beak. The tail is rounded and relatively soft and does not serve as a stiff support. The back is grayish brown, mottled and striped like tree bark. A darker stripe runs from the back of the head along the back. The throat is rust-colored with fine stripes; the underside is pale with small arrow-shaped marks. The legs and beak are brown. Males and females are hard to tell apart by appearance in the wild. Males are only slightly larger.
The young bird resembles an adult, but its markings are slightly less distinct. In flight, it rises and dips. It often feeds on the ground. It may cling to a tree trunk, but it does not climb it like a spotted woodpecker. Its call is a series of nasal sounds that carry far.
Picus viridis is much larger, with a green back and a red crown. Dendrocopos major is black and white with red markings. By contrast, the Eurasian wryneck is brown like tree bark and often looks for food on the ground.
From a distance, you might mistake the Eurasian wryneck for a female Lanius collurio at a glance. The female Lanius collurio has a plainer upper side and perches in a more open spot. The Eurasian wryneck has fine, bark-like markings and a dark stripe running from the nape onto the back.
Often confused with
In Georgia, the Eurasian wryneck is found during the breeding season and during spring and autumn migration. The 2024 list does not identify it as a species that winters in Georgia. It is found in partly open places such as forest edges, gardens and parks. These places have cavities suitable for nesting, short grass and plenty of ants on the ground.
Distribution confirmedfield records
Recorded only · 3
The Eurasian wryneck map uses public iNaturalist photo observations in Georgia. Regions come from the records-by-region table: only confirmed status counts as distribution; otherwise a region is not treated as part of the range. Record counts reflect observation effort, not population density.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
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- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Confirmed distribution region
10 photos · 7 photographersView all photos
Zauri Khachidze · Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
Zauri Khachidze · Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
Zauri Khachidze · Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
Zauri Khachidze · Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Eurasian wryneck.
Yes. Photos and records from rings attached to birds confirm that this bird breeds in Georgia and is also seen there during migration.
In Kakheti, Adjara and Mtskheta-Mtianeti. There are also isolated records from Tbilisi, Samtskhe-Javakheti and Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti, but these do not mean the species occurs everywhere in those places.
It is about the size of a sparrow, brown like tree bark and striped. A dark stripe runs from the back of its head down its back, and it has a short beak. It often feeds on the ground. In Georgia, green and spotted woodpeckers look quite different. Its song sounds like a nasal “qui-qui-qui.”
It is about 16–18 cm long and weighs 30–45 g.
It mainly eats ants and their larvae, which it looks for on the ground.
It is seen during the nesting season and during spring and autumn migration. The 2024 list does not identify it as wintering in Georgia.
Yes. According to the 2024 list, it nests. It usually uses an existing hollow in a tree.
It is not dangerous to people. It is not on Georgia’s official 2014 Red List. Globally, it has LC status. Do not catch wild birds.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
