Overview

This book considers the natural history and cultural symbolism of a most unusual woodpecker – a species that neither excavates nest holes in trees, nor bores into wood to find insect prey. The Wryneck is best renowned for performing a twisting, writhing head and neck display when threatened, but this ground-breaking work reveals many more secrets of its behaviour and evolution. Detailed information is presented on the species' origins, taxonomy, anatomy, appearance, moult, calls, distribution, conservation status, habitats, movements, breeding, diet and relationships, along with a chapter on its closest relative, the Red-throated Wryneck. The text is richly illustrated throughout with high quality photographs as well as sound spectrograms. The author augments his many hours watching Wrynecks with comprehensive literature research, creating what is surely the definitive volume on the species. This all-encompassing and engaging account has been written for a wide audience, whether professional ornithologist, citizen scientist, amateur birder, woodpecker aficionado or simply someone who wishes to learn more about this curious and remarkable bird.

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9781784272883

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Reviews

Thoroughly researched and illustrated with many superb photographs, paintings and figures...Undoubtedly this comprehensive book will be the standard reference for birders, scientists, citizen scientists and naturalists who want to learn about the wryneck. -- Daniel Alder * Independent Ecologist and Researcher * The Wryneck is a thoroughly researched, comprehensive, well-written and beautifully illustrated portrait of these enigmatic birds. -- Linda Smith * British Trust for Ornithology *

Thoroughly researched and illustrated with many superb photographs, paintings and figures...Undoubtedly this comprehensive book will be the standard reference for birders, scientists, citizen scientists and naturalists who want to learn about the wryneck. -- Daniel Alder * Independent Ecologist and Researcher * The Wryneck is a thoroughly researched, comprehensive, well-written and beautifully illustrated portrait of these enigmatic birds. -- Linda Smith * British Trust for Ornithology * Entertaining and authoritative...The species' behaviour, its diet, its worldwide distribution, its favoured habitats and its place in folklore and mythology are all covered in absorbing detail. -- Jim Wright * The Heron - Lincolnshire Bird Club * This is a book that tells the story of an amazing species that used to be a common British breeding bird - the poet John Clare wrote a poem about them having watched them breeding in Cambridgeshire in 1835, for example. The Wryneck is now a passage migrant in Britain, especially in the autumn. Gerard Gorman (Mr Woodpecker!) has a wide experience of this species (even putting up nestboxes for them in his area of Hungary), and here he gives them the same close attention he did the woodpeckers of the world in a previous book. I found it very useful, as I have actually found the bird in spring below my house, and hope for its return as a British breeding species in future years. -- John Miles * Chick Books * ...thoroughly recommended as an enjoyable way to increase your understanding of what is an iconic bird. -- Ed Stubbs * Birdguides.com * For woodpecker enthusiasts and anyone interested in how birds exploit distinctive ecological niches, as well as for birders who have or hope to see wrynecks when in the Old World, this finely illustrated book is a valuable resource. -- Roger F. Pasquier, The Wilson Journal of Ornithology

Author Information

Gerard Gorman is a global authority on the Picidae. He has published numerous papers and six previous books on this fascinating family of birds, including Woodpeckers of the World: The Complete Guide (Helm 2014). For the past 30 years he has travelled the world studying woodpeckers, believing that time in the field is the only way to really get to know them. He lives in Budapest and is a founder member and current leader of the Hungarian Woodpecker Working Group. 

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