wryneck

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. [ PJC ]

3. (Zool.) Any one of several species of Old World birds of the genus Jynx or subfamily Jynginae, allied to the woodpeckers; especially, the common European species (Jynx torguilla); -- so called from its habit of turning the neck around in different directions. Called also cuckoo's mate, snakebird, summer bird, tonguebird, and writheneck. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]