Date: 5/7/25 1:56 pm From: njmann90 via groups.io <njmann50...> Subject: Re: [slocobirding] thanks for lunch and woodpeckers
Retract email goof. But Mick and I did see a power struggle as described
among the acorn woodpeckers last Friday Pozo Rd and Las Pilitas. It was
wild.
NJM
On Wed, May 7, 2025 at 1:52 PM njmann90 via groups.io <njmann50=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> From Birds of the World
> Power Struggles
>
> The most dramatic agonistic interactions occur during power struggles,
> intense fights occurring in association with the filling of reproductive
> vacancies within groups (97
> <https://birdsoftheworld-org.cuesta.idm.oclc.org/bow/species/acowoo/cur/references#REF1880>,
> 102
> <https://birdsoftheworld-org.cuesta.idm.oclc.org/bow/species/acowoo/cur/references#REF38392>).
> Reproductive vacancies occur when all the breeders of 1 sex die or
> disappear and are generally filled by unrelated birds from outside the
> group to the exclusion of a related helper of the missing sex still present
> in the group. The right to fill such vacancies may be contested by up to 20
> or more nonbreeding helpers from other social groups who fight, often in
> unisexual sibling units, in contests lasting days or weeks and involve
> nonstop fighting, chasing, and vocalizations associated with intruders such
> as *Urrks*, *Garricks*, and drumming. Power struggles occur over
> vacancies of either sex but are generally more intense over female
> vacancies. The length of and number of intruders involved in power
> struggles are positively correlated with territory quality as measured by
> size of storage facilities. Power struggles are generally won by the
> largest participating coalition of siblings. Winners remain and share
> breeding status in the new territory, whereas losers return home to their
> natal groups and resume their status as nonbreeding helpers.
>
> During power struggles and other kinds of territorial skirmishes, birds
> vocalize and chase extensively, occasionally making contact and grappling
> with adversaries. While grappling, birds peck at each other's heads and
> drop, sometimes hitting the ground and remaining for several seconds before
> disengaging and flying away.
>
> Pretty much describes what we saw at Las Pilitas
> N
>
>
> --
> Nancy Jean Mann
> San Luis Obispo
> “I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
> "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But
> that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with
> the time that is given us.”
> ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring…
> See more
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> <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/unitedagainsthate?source=feed_text&story_id=10153533408700493> >
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--
Nancy Jean Mann
San Luis Obispo
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But
that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with
the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring…
See more
