The specific torquilla is Medieval Latin derived from torquere, to twist, referring to the strange snake-head movements.

The underparts are creamy white with brown markings shaped like arrow-heads which are reduced to spots on the lower breast and belly.

[11] The call of the Eurasian wryneck is a series of repeated harsh, shrill notes quee-quee-quee-quee lasting for several seconds and is reminiscent of the voice of the lesser spotted woodpecker.

The breeding range of the nominate subspecies includes all of Europe to the Urals, except the British Isles, where it was extirpated in the 20th century, and Iceland.

In the south and east it intergrades with J. t. tschusii (smaller and more reddish brown) which is found in Corsica, Italy, Dalmatia and parts of the Balkans.

J. t. mauretanica (also smaller than the nominate form, light, with whitish throat and breast) is resident in Algeria and Morocco and possibly also the Balearic Islands, Sardinia and parts of Sicily.

The wintering area of European species is located south of the Sahara, in a wide strip across Africa extending from Senegal, Gambia and Sierra Leone in the west to Ethiopia in the east.

[4] The Eurasian wryneck sometimes forms small groups during migration and in its winter quarters but in the summer is usually found in pairs.

On farmland in Switzerland it has been found that old pear orchards with large numbers of ant nests are preferentially selected over other habitats.

Orchards in general, and older ones in particular, provide favoured territories, probably because the dense foliage is more likely to support high numbers of aphids and the ground beneath has scant vegetation cover, both of which factors increase the availability of ants, the birds' main prey.

[16] Limiting factors for such crevice-nesting species as Eurasian wrynecks are both the availability of nesting sites and the number of ants and their ease of discovery.

Modern farming practices such as the removal of hedges, forest patches and isolated trees and the increasing use of fertilisers and pesticides are disadvantageous to such birds.

[17] The diet of the Eurasian wryneck consists chiefly of ants but beetles and their larvae, moths, spiders and woodlice are also eaten.

Although much time is spent in the upper branches of trees, the bird sometimes perches in low bushes and mostly forages on the ground, moving around with short hops with its tail held in a raised position.

It does not make holes in bark with its beak but picks up prey with a rapid extension and retraction of its tongue and it sometimes catches insects while on the wing.

[4] In its search for a safe, protected site out of reach of predators, it sometimes evicts a previous occupant, its eggs and nestlings.

[19] In the United Kingdom the numbers of bird are on the decrease and it is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and is listed on Appendix II of the Bern Convention.

[20] In Switzerland, the population has also been decreasing, but the species has reacted positively to conservation measures such as the addition of nestboxes in suitable habitats.