Wryneck - Johan Scherft

[Kevin WS]

John - thanks for your comment. In short - of course! And I would love to, but given the demand the costs are ludicrous. And in addition, if you install panels a surcharge will also be payable to the electricity suppliers in the future!

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Don, Doug, Erik and rmks2000 - thanks!

As mentioned in my initial post I said I would also try and provide some info on the actual bird - I know nothing about it and have never seen one. Would take stunning photos though I am sure!

[Kevin WS]

Now for some information on the actual bird………..

General

• There are two species – the Eurasian Wyrneck (the model) and the Rufus Necked (or Red Necked) Wyrneck.
• They are ”Old World” woodpeckers.
• Although woodpeckers, they do not have the typical long sharp beaks.
• They do however share the other woodpecker features, such as large heads and long tongues (used to extract insects) and zygodactyl feet (two toes forward, two back).
• Prey is mainly small insects and ants.
• They use old woodpecker nests.
• The distinctive patterning on their feathers mimic bark very well – this makes them difficult to spot, especially when they couch against a tree branch.
• The name Wyrneck comes from their ability to rotate their heads 180%.
• They use their twisting ability as a threat display, also hissing at the same time.

Eurasian Wyrneck

• It is the only European woodpecker to that undertakes long-distance migrations (from Central Europe to Central Africa and Southern Asia).
• Found in all terrains - mixed woodland, farms, orchards etc.
• It is reducing in numbers, especially in the UK (where it is no longer a breeding species), Switzerland and Western Europe – a 10% + drop in population recently overall.

Red-throated Wyrneck

• Very similar to the Eurasian bird and is a resident version of the Wrynecks that is found in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Here the Wyrneck is a savannah bird – it uses old barbet nests as well as woodpecker nests.
• Behaviour is similar to the Eurasian Wyrneck.
• Populations are currently stable.

Naming of the Bird

• The older name for the bird is the JYNX (read “jinx”) and it was thought by its twisting behaviours to be able to put a spell (a jinx) on people!
• The Online Etymology Dictionary states that 'jynx', meaning a charm or spell, was in usage in English as early as the 1690s.
• Jynx/jinx is traced to the 17th-century word jyng, meaning "a spell", and ultimately to the Latin word iynx, also spelt jynx ('j' and 'i' are the same letter in Latin).
• The Latin iynx came from the Greek name of the wryneck bird, iunx, which was associated with sorcery - the bird was used in the casting of spells and in divination.
• The ancient Romans and Greeks traced the bird's mythological origins to a sorceress named Iynx, who was transformed into this bird to punish her for a spell cast on the god Zeus.

Picture 1 shows a Red-throated Wyrneck, which you can compare with Picture 2 (courtesy Johan Scherft) of the actual Eurasian Wryneck Model. Both pretty similar, even in terms of the patterning...

Bear in mind the bird in the second picture has its crest erected.

[Don Boose]

Thanks for all this good info, Kevin!

A most interesting bird.

Incidentally, I first came upon the word "Wryneck" as the name of a Royal Navy W-class destroyer (sunk off Greece in April 1941) when, as a youth, I was memorizing Jane's Fighting Ships. Only later did I learn that it was the name a bird not found in Baltimore.

Don

Image source: HMS Wryneck

[Kevin WS]

Thanks Don. Interesting.

I just had a quick read up on the ship - I am tempted to say perhaps she was "jinxed"!

Aside from the obvious "W" Class connotation, I wonder why they chose this name? I can find nothing regarding this. I am sure they must have been aware of the implications of the name, which actually makes it a strange choice for a ship.

There was only one other "bird" in the 'W' class, 'Waterhen', and in this case as a name for a ship, this makes sense. The other "W" names are a hodgepodge of everything, mainly places.

[Don Boose]

I think it was the "W" that decided. By the end of WWI, the Royal Navy was starting to run out of names for ships.

Many years ago, I read a most interesting article in the Naval Institute Proceedings by a man who was involved in the naming of U.S. Navy ships during World War II. At that time, the USN had a fairly systematic methodology for naming ships, but the enormous WWII building program ran into the problem of running out of ships names, especially for submarines, then named after fish and marine creatures. As I recall the story, the man developed a close relationship with the marine biology staff of the Smithsonian in order to get the names of more obscure fish and sea creatures. Finally, they ran completely out of names, but since there was a backlog of fish that had not yet been named, the two of them invented names, so that there are a number of fish named for submarines named for invented fish names.

But we digress from your model.

Don

[Kevin WS]

The body is made up of two parts, the breast and the back, which are then joined together.

Starting with the breast.

Picture 1 – The part cut out.

The method of assembly is straight forward. Start on the sides and glue the tabs one by one, leaving each tab to dry in between. Work on each side alternately.

Leave the triangular centre section tab until last, until after the two halves have been joined together.

• Remember to dry fit each tab to see how it goes, and how the body bends and reacts when the tab is in place.
• Shape the body as you go along.
• To seat the tab properly, and get the shape of the body right, place the next tab ON TOP of the part. This ensures the first tab is “seated” accurately. After the first tab has dried, the next tab is flipped back down, and the following one up etc. This helps to get the seams spot on and tight.
• Exposed edges where the body is dark should be coloured with a pencil. Where the body is pale the edges do not need colouring.

Pictures 2 to 5 – The breast after the tabs on both sides have been joined.

Next, the two halves are glued together.

I started joining the part from the centre, but leaving the triangular tab still UNGLUED, and allowing each tab to dry before glueing the next.

When joined, I then gently shaped the body with my fingers and also burnished it from the inside with a burnishing tool, so it was nicely rounded out.

I then stuck the final triangular centre tab down.

Picture 6 – Typical burnishing tools. But you can use a loose ball bearing, small spoons etc.

Pictures 7 to 9 – The finished result.

Next will be the back of the body.

[Don Boose]

Great start to the body of the bird.

Don

[Kevin WS]

On to the back.

Picture 1 - The part cut out. The neck region is to the top.

Assembly is pretty straightforward and basically mirrors the process for the breast above.

In the case of this part, the tabs were glued in order from the neck area down, working from the inside to outside, while glueing the tabs on each side alternately.

The part will then gradually form its shape.

• Note that I did NOT glue the triangular tab in the centre - this I will only glue AFTER this part has been joined to the breast part already made.
• Some of the tabs are very small, while other parts are quite narrow. These areas I reinforced by glueing extra strips of paper in the inside. You can see these extra strips in Picture 2 below.

After glueing the part altogether, the inside was then gently shaped with my fingers and burnished again with a burnishing tool, to get it nice and round.

Picture 2 - The inside after this part is complete. Note the extra reinforcing strips dotted around.

Pictures 3 to 5 - The finished part ready to join to the breast.

Next, joining the breast and back together...

[Don Boose]

Very deft work.

Don

[Kevin WS]

Thank you Don.