アリスイ：wryneck

　河川敷でさえずる声がします。鳴き声を聞いて、モズにしては違和感があって探すと、アキニレの上のアリスイでした。アリスイはキツツキ科の野鳥で、関西では冬鳥。和名はアリを好んで食べることから来ますが、英語名wryneckや学名の種小名torquillaは、それぞれ「ねじれた首」「首をねじる小鳥」程の意味です。このときは警戒のためにふと頭を回した様子に、名前の片鱗が見えたような気がしました。

There was a chirping sound in the riverbed. It sounded strange for a shrike, so I looked for it, and found it was an Arisui, or wryneck (Jynx torquilla) on a Japanese elm tree. Arisui is a wild bird of the woodpecker family and a winter bird in Kansai area. Its Japanese name comes from the fact that it feeds on ants, but its English name, wryneck, and its scientific name, torquilla, mean something like "twisted neck" or "small bird that twists its neck," respectively. On this occasion, I thought I saw a glimpse of the name in the way it turned its head in alarm.

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Photo 2021-10-07