It takes a village, but only in times of plenty, acorn woodpeckers show
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 16:30
in Biology & Nature
Acorn woodpeckers are cooperative breeders, meaning adult birds often join breeding groups and help raise young that are not their own. Scientists have long thought that communal breeding may have evolved to help birds deal with food shortages and other difficult times. But a new study shows that for acorn woodpeckers, the opposite seems to be true: Help contributed by other family members is beneficial only when the acorn crop is large.