WRYNECK, a bird, Jynx torquilla, so called from its way of writhing its head and neck. It is a summer visitant to most parts of Europe, generally arriving a few days before the cuckoo, and is often known as "cuckoo's leader" and "cuckoo's mate." The unmistakable note of the wryneck is merely a repetition of what may be syllabled que, que, que, many times in succession, rapidly uttered at first, but gradually slowing and in a continually falling key. This is only heard during a few weeks, and for the rest of the bird's stay in Europe it seems to be mute. It feeds mainly on insects, especially on ants. It is larger than a sparrow with beautifully variegated plumage of black, brown, buff and grey. The wryneck lays its translucent white eggs on the bare wood of a hole in a tree, and it is one of the few wild birds that can be induced to go on laying by abstracting its eggs day after day, and thus upwards of forty have been taken from a single hole—but the proper complement is from six to ten. When disturbed on the nest, the female writhes and hisses like a snake. As regards Britain, the bird is most common in the south-east, its numbers decreasing rapidly towards the west and north.
Other species of the genus are found in various parts of Africa.
The wrynecks (see WOODPECKER) form a subfamily Jynginae of the Picidae, from the more normal groups of which they differ in coloration and in having the tail-quills not stiffened to serve as props as in the climbing Picinae.
(Lat. Torticollis), a congenital or acquired deformity, characterized by the affected side of the head being drawn downwards towards the shoulder together with deviation of the face towards the sound side. There are various forms. (I) The congenital, due to a lesion of the sterno-mastoid muscle. (2) The rheumatic, due to exposure to a draught or cold. This is commonly known as "stiff-neck." (3) The nervous or spasmodic, the result of (a) direct irritation of the spinal accessory nerve or its roots, or (b) the result of cerebral irritation. Many cases are also due to hysteria and some to spinal caries. When wry-neck is congenital, massage and manipulation may be tried and some form of apparatus. Failing this, division of the muscle surgically may be practised. In the spasmodic forms, anti-neurotic treatment is recommended. In rheumatic torticollis the spasm is usually over come by the application of hot compresses and appropriate anti rheumatic treatment.