The Key to Scientific Names
- jynx
L. iynx, iyngis wryneck < Gr. ιυγξ iunx, ιυγγος iungos wryneck (syn. Jynx torquilla).
- JYNX
(Picidae; Ϯ Eurasian Wryneck J. torquilla) L. iynx, iyngis wryneck < Gr. ιυγξ iunx, ιυγγος iungos wryneck, a bird wrought large in ancient superstition, especially as a charm to bring back a strayed lover (the unfortunate bird being tied to a length of string and whirled around) < ιυζω iuzō to shout < ιυ iu exclamation of surprise (cf. Gr. myth. Iynx, one of the Pierides, who, having failed to best the Muses in a singing contest, was transformed into a bird; in former times it was not a good idea to challenge the Muses!); "53. JYNX. Rostrum teretiusculum, acuminatum. Nares concavæ. Lingua teres, lumbriciformis, longissima, apice mucronata." (Linnaeus 1758); "Jynx Linné, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, 1758, p. 112. Type, by monotypy, Jynx torquilla Linné." (Peters, 1948, VI, p. 86). Linnaeus's Jynx comprised a single species.
Var. Inx, Iunx, Iynx (Sundevall, 1866, Consp. Avium Picinarum, p. 107, treated Jynx Linnaeus, 1758, as a lapsus for Iynx), Junx, Ynx, Yunx, Yunz.
Synon. Torquilla.