-Four Red-cockaded Woodpeckers from three were radio tracked for 128 hours from October to December 1975 in a pine flatwood community in central Florida. Radio telemetry equipment proved valuable for obtaining data on daily movements, behavior, and range size over a complete dawn to dusk tracking period. The average range of 69.8 ha (172.3 acres) was larger than most previously reported ranges. Foraging was most frequent in pine habitat; longleaf and slashed pine were the main species utilized. The roosting area itself was used as a foraging site only during rainy weather. Based on this study a minimum of 58-91 ha of suitable foraging habitat are necessary to support of 3-4 Red-cockaded Woodpeckers during fall in a pine community.-Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, Wildlife Management Laboratory, 4005 S. Main Street, Gainesville, Florida 32601. Accepted 13 October 1976. Survival of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) within its natural range, the pine woods of the southeastern United States, is uncertain under present day commercial forestry practices. Concern for the future of the species is evident from the endangered status given it by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (U.S. Department of the Interior, 1973). This study to determine critical habitat requirements for the woodpecker in central Florida was undertaken as part of an overall assessment of the impact on wildlife of the proposed Cross Florida Barge Canal. The use of radio telemetry equipment was authorized under interim authority granted by the Office of Endangered Species, U.S. Department of Interior pending final disposition of the applications. When initiated, the intention was to carry out the study more fully than reported here. Final approval for the use of radio telemetry equipment was denied and restrictions were placed on the number of birds that could be color marked. As a consequence, the study was curtailed. To our knowledge this is the first study to employ radio telemetry techniques to study the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. For this reason and because any new information on a species as sensitive as this woodpecker would be important in making sound management decisions related to the species, it seems appropriate to present the results of this study here. STUDY AREA AND METHODS Three clans (Jackson and Thompson 1971) of the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers were studied during the fall of 1975 in Marion County, Florida, about 7 km south of Eureka and 1 km west of the Oklawaha River. The habitat of the area consisted of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) on the higher sites, characterized by an overstory, principally longleaf pine between 50 and 80 years old and 21-25 m tall. This habitat graded to slash pine (Pinus elliottii) or pond pine (Pinus serotina) on the lower, wetter sites. Bayheads occurred on the lowest, wettest sites and long streams with an overstory of loblolly bay (Gordonia lasianthus), sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana), red maple (Acer rubrum), and black gum (Nyssa sylvatica). Scattered throughout the area were several intermittent flatwoods ponds bordered by bay and pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens). Also within the study area were improved pastures, four recent timber clear cuts, and a 10-15-year-old slash pine plantation with an open understory of wire grass (Aristida stricta) and gallberry (Ilex glabra). Figure 1 is a general habitat map of the three ranges. 145 The Auk 95: 145-151. January 1978 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.138 on Thu, 19 May 2016 04:35:02 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 146 NESBITT ET AL. [Auk, Vol. 95 X A E LONGLEAF PINE FLATWOODS N [j` SLASH-POND PINE FLATWOODS o0oo000 L..J BAYHEADS, PONDS, CYPRESS DOMES