Abstract
During a study of Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus) nesting in central British Columbia, I discovered a polyandrous female attending two nests 447 m apart. The phenology at the two nests was staggered so that the female took incubation shifts and fed nestlings at both trees. Hatching success was typical but the female appeared to divide her provisioning effort between the broods. At one nest, only about 20% of visits were by the female, compared to a typical rate of 50%. Polyandrous mating benefited the female, who fledged all six nestlings in one brood and all seven in the other. The mean number of fledglings for monogamous females in this population was 5.9. Two other cases of polyandry possibly related to human disturbance are discussed. These results suggest exceptions to the idea that, in Picidae, the full contribution of both genders during incubation and brood rearing is required to fledge young.
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