Observations of the breeding behavior of the yellow‐tufted wood‐ pecker (melanerpes cruentatus) in Napo Province, Ecuador

The Yellow‐tufted Woodpecker (Melanerpes cruentatus) is common and conspicuous across most of tropical South America. Nevertheless, there is little information available on its breeding behavior. I describe observations of a breeding pair, made between 15 February and 10 March 2016, near the Biologi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: van der Hoek, Yntze
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:Ecuador
Institución:Universidad Regional Amazónica
Repositorio:Repositorio Universidad Regional Amazónica
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ikiam.edu.ec:RD_IKIAM/131
Acceso en línea:http://repositorio.ikiam.edu.ec/jspui/handle/RD_IKIAM/131
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305774110
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Breeding behavior
Cavity‐nester
Ecuador
Reserva Biológica Colonso‐Chalupas
Snag
Yellow‐tufted Woodpecker
Descripción
Sumario:The Yellow‐tufted Woodpecker (Melanerpes cruentatus) is common and conspicuous across most of tropical South America. Nevertheless, there is little information available on its breeding behavior. I describe observations of a breeding pair, made between 15 February and 10 March 2016, near the Biological Reserve Colonso Chalupas in the province of Napo, Ecuador. I observed aggressive interactions between M. cruentatus and Masked Tityras (Tityra semifasciata), likely as a result of competition for nest‐holes. I did not observe cooperative breeding. My observations suggest that breeding in Ecuador may commence as early as February, and that M. cruentatus requires dead, standing tree snags, an element often eliminated from anthropogenic landscapes. The availability of snags should be part of ecosystem management, especially in the buffer zone of a protected area.