How to translate text using browser tools
1 September 2013 Documentation of predation of a nestling Cerulean Warbler by a Red-bellied Woodpecker
Sasha A. Auer, Kamal Islam, Kevin W. Barnes, Jennifer A. Brown
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus) feed primarily on arthropods and plant matter, but a growing body of evidence suggests that Red-bellied Woodpeckers may also be a common passerine nest predator. Cerulean Warblers are the fastest declining Neotropical migratory wood warbler in North America. We report our observations of a Red-bellied Woodpecker depredating a nestling Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) in Indiana. Further suggesting their status as a recognized nest predator, we also report agonistic behavior of a different Cerulean Warbler pair toward a Red-bellied Woodpecker foraging near the warblers' fledglings. Red-bellied Woodpeckers may be a more common nest predator of Cerulean Warblers than currently recognized, but further research is needed.

2013 by the Wilson Ornithological Society
Sasha A. Auer, Kamal Islam, Kevin W. Barnes, and Jennifer A. Brown "Documentation of predation of a nestling Cerulean Warbler by a Red-bellied Woodpecker," The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 125(3), 642-646, (1 September 2013). https://doi.org/10.1676/12-163.1
Received: 3 October 2012; Accepted: 1 January 2013; Published: 1 September 2013
KEYWORDS
Cerulean Warbler
Melanerpes carolinus
mobbing
nest predation
predator
red-bellied woodpecker
Setophaga cerulea
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top