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.

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 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.

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.

[2] The wryneck subfamily Jynginae has one genus, Jynx, introduced in 1758 by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae.

The two wrynecks form a superspecies that probably separated early in their evolution from the piculets,[2] although there has subsequently been only limited divergence between the Jynx species.

[8] 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".

[7][11] 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.

[16] 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.

[7] 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.

[5] Wrynecks do not drum like woodpeckers, but may tap near the nest hole or on branches,[4] apparently as a displaced aggression activity during interactions between two birds.

It will use man-made habitats such as farmland, parks and gardens as long as there are trees present, which can include introduced eucalyptus and conifers.

[5] Like its Eurasian cousin, when threatened the red-throated wryneck will twist its neck and head in a snake-like manner while making a hissing sound, presumably to deter predators.

[21] Wrynecks fly by alternating powered flaps with glides on closed wings, giving the bouncing flight appearance typical of woodpeckers.

[5] The red-throated wryneck feeds almost entirely on ants, their larvae, pupae and eggs, although termites and other small invertebrates are occasionally taken, prey items being gleaned with its long sticky tongue.

[11] Nests may be reused in subsequent years, in one case in alternation with a pair of violet-backed starlings, and also as winter roosts.

[5] The chicks are fed by both adults for 25–26 days until they fledge; they hiss and make snake-like head movements if intruders visit the nest.

[11] The adult honeyguide does not remove the host's eggs or chicks, but its monitoring of active nests may attract other predators.

In South Africa it is locally common, and the range has expanded due to introduction of non-native trees to formerly unwooded grassland areas.