The red-throated wryneck (Jynx ruficollis), also known as the rufous-necked wryneck or red-breasted wryneck, is a species of wryneck in the woodpecker family closely related to the Eurasian wryneck. Its three subspecies are resident in much of sub-Saharan Africa in open habitats with some trees. It is a slim, elongated bird about 19 cm (7.5 in) in length, with a small head, fine bill, long fan-shaped tail and cryptic plumage intricately patterned in greys and browns. The sexes look similar, although males are slightly larger. The diet of the adults and young is almost entirely ants at all stages of their life cycles. The call of the red-throated wryneck is a series of repeated harsh, shrill notes. When threatened, a bird will twist its neck and head in a snake-like manner while making a hissing sound, presumably to deter predators. The red-throated wryneck nests in pre-existing holes, usually in trees, preferring old barbet or woodpecker nests. The unlined nest cavity is usually 3–4 m (10–13 ft) above the ground, and the clutch is typically three or four white eggs, laid at one-day intervals. Both sexes incubate the eggs for 12–15 days until the blind, naked chicks hatch. The chicks are fed by both adults for 25–26 days until they fledge. There are usually two broods. The red-throated wryneck has a very extensive range, and its population is large and increasing. For this reason, it is evaluated as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Taxonomy and etymology The woodpeckers are an ancient bird family consisting of three subfamilies, the wrynecks, the piculets and the true woodpeckers, Picinae. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis show that the wrynecks are a sister clade to other woodpeckers including the Picinae and probably diverged early from the rest of the family. The wryneck subfamily Jynginae has one genus, Jynx, introduced in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. It contains two species, the Eurasian wryneck, J. torquilla, and the red-throated wryneck, J. ruficollis. The two wrynecks form a superspecies that probably separated early in their evolution from the piculets, although there has subsequently been only limited divergence between the Jynx species. The red-throated wryneck was first identified by German ornithologist Johann Georg Wagler in 1830. It is also known as the rufous-necked wryneck or red-breasted wryneck. The genus name Jynx is from the Ancient Greek name for the Eurasian wryneck, ιυγξ, iunx, and ruficollis is from the Latin rufus, "rufous" and collum "neck". The English "wryneck" refers to the habit of birds in this genus of twisting and writhing their necks when agitated. It was first recorded in 1585. The red-throated wryneck has three subspecies:
Jynx ruficollis ruficollis (Wagler, 1830), the nominate subspecies found in southeastern Gabon, southwest to eastern Uganda, southwestern Kenya, northern Tanzania, northern Angola, northwestern Zambia, Mozambique, Eswatini and eastern South Africa. J. r. aequatorialis (Ruppell, 1842), the highlands of Ethiopia. Also known as the Ethiopian wryneck. J. r. pulchricollis (Hartlaub, 1884), in Nigeria, Cameroon, South Sudan and northwestern Uganda. Also known as the bar-throated wryneck.
Fossil record The woodpecker family appears to have diverged from other Piciformes about fifty million years ago, and a 2017 study considered that the split between Jynx and other woodpeckers occurred about 22.5 million years ago. A fossil dating from the early Miocene, more than twenty million years ago, consisting of the distal end of a tarsometatarsus had some Jynx-like features, but was classed as an early piculet. By the Pliocene (five million years ago) woodpeckers were similar to those now extant. Fossil wrynecks are known from Europe in the Pleistocene, between 2.6 million and 11,700 years ago.
Description
The red-throated wryneck grows to about 19 cm (7.5 in) in length. The sexes are very similar in appearance, and cannot be distinguished in the field, but the male averages 2–3% larger than the female, has a shorter tail, and is heavier at 52–59 g (1.8–2.1 oz) against her 46–52 g (1.6–1.8 oz). It is a slim, elongated bird with a small head, fine bill, long fan-shaped tail and a body shape unlike that of a typical woodpecker. The overall impression is of cryptic plumage patterned with greys, browns and black. The upperparts and head are brown, barred and mottled in dark shades, and the rump and upper tail coverts are grey with speckles of brown and black. The chin, throat and breast of the subspecies Jynx ruficollis ruficollis are red, and the lower breast and belly are white with some dark streaks; there is a cinnamon tint to the flanks and the underneath of the tail. The wings are brown above and more buff-toned below. The grey bill is long and thin, the irides are chestnut, and the legs are grey. As with all woodpeckers, the first and fourth toes point backwards and the second and third point forwards, a good arrangement for clinging to vertical surfaces. Young birds resemble adults after 20 days, but are darker and more barred above, and lightly barred below with a smaller and darker red patch. The three subspecies differ in appearance, mainly in the extent of red on the breast. In Jynx ruficollis ruficollis the red extends from the chin to the chest, whereas in J. r. aequatorialis it extends further down the breast, and there is a more cinnamon tinge to the flanks. J. r. pulchricollis has a brown-barred white chin and upper throat, and its red patch is darker and confined to its lower throat and upper breast. This race also has more rufous upperparts. The two wrynecks cannot be confused with any other species, but some Eurasian birds may winter within the range of red-throated wryneck. The African species, compared to its migratory cousin, differs in its usually obvious red throat, larger size, overall browner appearance and the lack of a dark streak through the eye.
Moult Most woodpeckers have only one moult as soon as breeding has finished, but wrynecks have a partial moult prior to breeding, and also replace their tail feathers in a different sequence from true woodpeckers since they have no need to retain central tail feathers for support, as is required by their arboreal relatives. Details of the moult can be complex and variable, and ageing wrynecks from their plumage appearance can be challenging.
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