wryneck

wryneck
/ruy"nek'/, n.
1. Informal.
a. torticollis.
b. a person having torticollis.
2. any of several small Old World climbing birds of the subfamily Jynginae, of the woodpecker family, noted for the peculiar habit of twisting the head and neck.
[1575-85; WRY + NECK]

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▪ bird
 either of two species of birds that constitute the subfamily Jynginae of the woodpecker family (Picidae) but may be separated as the family Jyngidae. Wrynecks are gray-brown birds of open woods and brushlands, named for their habit of twisting their necks snakily when alarmed. They flick up ants from the ground or insects from trees with their long tongues, and they nest in old woodpecker holes. The Eurasian wryneck (Jynx torquilla), 16 cm (6.25 inches) long, breeds from England to Japan and winters in the tropics. The red-breasted wryneck (J. ruficollis) is African.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wryneck — Wry neck, n. (Med.) [1913 Webster] 1. A twisted or distorted neck; a deformity in which the neck is drawn to one side by a rigid contraction of one of the muscles of the neck; torticollis. [1913 Webster] 2. a person suffering from torticollis.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wryneck — ► NOUN ▪ a bird of the woodpecker family, with brown plumage and a habit of twisting its head backwards …   English terms dictionary

  • wryneck — [rīnek΄] n. 1. a) TORTICOLLIS b) a person afflicted with this 2. any of a genus (Jynx) of Old World woodpeckers with long, soft tail feathers and a habit of twisting the neck …   English World dictionary

  • Wryneck — Taxobox name = Wrynecks image caption = Eurasian Wryneck image width = 200px regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Piciformes familia = Picidae genus = Jynx genus authority = Linnaeus, 1758 subdivision ranks = Species… …   Wikipedia

  • Wryneck — grąžiagalvė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Jynx torquilla angl. Wryneck vok. Wendehals …   Paukščių anatomijos terminai

  • wryneck — grąžiagalvės statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Jynx angl. wryneck vok. Wendehals, m rus. вертиголовка, f; вертишейка, f pranc. torcol, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas – grąžiagalvės siauresnis terminas – eurazinė grąžiagalvė… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • wryneck — noun Date: 1585 1. either of two Old World woodpeckers (Jynx torquilla or J. ruficollis) that differ from the typical woodpeckers in having soft tail feathers and a peculiar manner of writhing the neck 2. torticollis …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • wryneck — noun Either of two small woodpeckers, Jynx torquilla and Jynx ruficollis, of the Old World that can turn their heads almost 180 degrees …   Wiktionary

  • wryneck — SYN: torticollis. * * * wry·neck rī .nek n TORTICOLLIS * * * n. see torticollis * * * wry·neck (riґneck) torticollis …   Medical dictionary

  • wryneck — Synonyms and related words: adenoiditis, adrenitis, appendicitis, arteritis, arthritis deformans, arthritis fungosa, arthritis pauperum, atrophic arthritis, atrophic inflammation, blennorrhagic arthritis, bowlegs, brain fever, bronchitis, bunion …   Moby Thesaurus

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