The reproductive ecology of the Campo Flicker Colaptes campestris campestroides

Abstract

The Campo Flicker Colaptes campestris is a Neotropical woodpecker. Reports indicate breedingbehaviour may vary regionally, as the northern subspecies (C. c. campestris) is a facultativecooperative breeder, but this is not reported for the southern C. c. campestroides. Also, this flickercan excavate or reuse cavities but whether cavity type impacts breeding success has not beenassessed. The objectives of this study are to: (1) report breeding parameters of a southern flickerpopulation in a natural woodland of central Argentina, (2) discuss differences from northernpopulations, (3) report cooperative breeding in the austral subspecies and (4) assess whetherbreeding success (e.g. number of fledglings, predation rates) and cavity features are related tocavity type (new vs. reused). We followed 55 nests (24 and 31 in new and reused cavities,respectively) over three breeding seasons (2015–2016, 2016–2017, 2017–2018). Neither reproductive parameters nor cavity measurements differed between cavity types. Ten breeding pairs (18%) had a third individual (i.e. formed a cooperative group) that collaborated with cavity excavation and incubation. Our results enlighten regional differences between populations of the Campo Flicker. We improve the knowledge on the link between new cavities and breeding success,providing a full description of the Campo Flicker nesting ecology, including the first evidence ofcooperative breeding in this subspecies.