Eurasian Wryneck

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Eurasian Wryneck in the UK

A scarce passage migrant and a lost breeder. It once nested widely across southern and central England, but the breeding range shrank through the 20th century. The last confirmed UK breeding record was in 2002 and it is now treated as extinct as a breeder, though a singing male is noted in the odd spring. Passage birds from Scandinavia arrive every autumn, with fewer in spring. In September 2026 national weekly reports ran at 14 to 17 birds. It is a Schedule 1 species.

Where and when to see a Eurasian Wryneck

The east and south coasts of England, plus Scilly and the Northern Isles. Late August to late September is best, after easterly winds with drizzle or fog. A few arrive in April and May. Good sites include Spurn in East Yorkshire, the north Norfolk coast, Portland Bill in Dorset and the Isles of Scilly. Look on quiet paths, short turf, dune edges and scrubby banks early in the day, when birds feed in the open.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Open woodland (passage).
Diet: Ants, insects.
Field note: Cryptic; twists head like a snake.

How to identify a Eurasian Wryneck

A little larger than a House Sparrow and nothing like a typical woodpecker. The plumage is grey, brown and buff, patterned like bark. Look for a dark stripe running from the crown down the middle of the back, a dark line through the eye and a buff throat with fine bars. The tail is long, grey and barred. It hops on the ground to lick up ants and perches across twigs like a songbird. When threatened it twists and writhes its neck, which is the source of the name.

Call and song

Usually silent on passage. Spring males give a ringing, slightly nasal 'quee-quee-quee-quee', a run of a dozen or so notes that recalls a small falcon or a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Barred Warbler: A young Barred Warbler in the same coastal scrub is plain grey with pale wing bars and lacks the dark back stripe and eye line.
• Red-backed Shrike: A juvenile Red-backed Shrike is scaly brown too but sits upright on bush tops, has a hooked bill and a rusty tail it swings from side to side.

Month by month

A passage migrant. Look for it on spring and autumn movements rather than through the summer. Numbers peak in April. See the April birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Eurasian Wryneck is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5. It is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so it is an offence to disturb it at or near the nest. We blur the location of every sighting of this species.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Black KiteRare · Open country (passage)
• Long-tailed SkuaRare · Open sea (autumn passage)
• Pomarine SkuaRare · Open sea (passage)
• Red-footed FalconRare · Open country (rare passage)
• Sooty ShearwaterRare · Open Atlantic (autumn passage)
• Black-throated ThrushEpic · Open woodland (very rare)

Eurasian Wryneck: quick answers

Where can I see a Wryneck in the UK?

On the coast in autumn. East coast headlands and observatories from Yorkshire to Kent, the south coast and Scilly all get birds in most years. A few are found inland on commons and in gardens each September.

What does a Wryneck eat?

Ants, almost entirely. It takes adults, larvae and pupae from nests in short turf and bare ground, using a long sticky tongue. A shortage of bare ground and short vegetation, and so of ants, is thought to be the main reason it died out as a British breeder.

Is the Wryneck rare in the UK?

It is scarce, not a national rarity. Numbers each autumn depend on the weather over the North Sea during migration. You have a fair chance of finding one if you walk east coast scrub after easterlies in early September.

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