Thanks for the info, Kevin. It was a bit frustrating to label all the photos “adult, sex unknown” when there were clearly (at least) 2 different birds, and it seemed a good bet that there was (at least) 1 of each sex. But so be it.
- - Dave Nutter > On Jul 6, 2023, at 7:42 PM, Kevin J. McGowan <k...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > No, and no. :^( > > The sexes in Red-headed Woodpeckers are not distinguishable by plumage. The > difference in staining could very well be the consequence of one bird being > in the nest cavity more than the other, but it is usually the male that does > more incubation and brooding than the female, as in most(?) woodpeckers. > > Described copulation displays, fide Birds of the World, do not indicate any > nape-grabbing like waterfowl or cats. Instead, there seems to be switching of > who’s on top, and back and forth, and other moves. So, I would say feather > loss on the back of the head is due to something else, like earlier onset of > molt than the other bird, or something. > > Best, > > Kevin > > > From: bounce-127549365-3493...@list.cornell.edu > <bounce-127549365-3493...@list.cornell.edu> On Behalf Of Dave Nutter > Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2023 4:51 PM > To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> > Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Red-headed Woodpeckers > > This morning I biked up to the east edge of the Town of Ithaca on a > successful quest to see the Red-headed Woodpeckers whose nest with young was > located by Tom Schulenberg over 2 1/2 weeks ago. I was able to scope and > photograph through a small gap in foliage at a respectful enough distance > that: the adults came to the nest hole several times to feed one or more > unseen nestlings; one adult went entirely inside the cavity at least twice; > for awhile in between feedings a large nestling peered out of the cavity, > appearing well-feathered on its head and seeming large enough to be ready to > fledge soon. The feedings were frequent enough that I think the adults were > only feeding at the cavity, but once I located the cavity, I was not looking > around to see if they were also feeding any fledglings. Tom has noted plumage > differences between the two adults when they visit his feeders. I noticed > that one of the adults appeared immaculate, with bright white secondaries and > a solid crimson crown. The other adult had a slight rusty tinge on the > secondaries, several brown stains on the lower breast plumage, and a patch of > feathers apparently missing from the rear of its crown; this was the adult > who went inside the cavity each of the two times I was able to tell. > > My question, for those of you more knowledgeable or research-oriented, is > this: Does the difference in plumage I noticed indicate who is which sex? For > instance, does the female spend a lot more time in the nest cavity than the > male, thus become more likely to get stained? Does missing feathers on the > back of the head indicate a female? That is, do mating male woodpeckers grab > the back of the head of females, similar to mating ducks? Or is this patch of > apparent missing feathers due to something else? > > A link to my eBird checklist, with photos, is below. > > - - Dave Nutter > > - Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S143727178 > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
