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THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol. 124. No. 2. June 2012 
participate in alternate reproductive strategies. 
Extra-pair paternity has not been documented in 
socially monogamous flicker pairs (Wiehe and 
Kempenaers 2009) and it is unlikely that any of the 
eggs were sired by other males. 
Double brooding may increase fecundity in 
several species (Nagy and Holmes 2005. Mulvi- 
hill et al. 2009) but it was not the case for this 
flicker pair. The timing of the nests may have 
been too close and the male was unable to 
contribute sufficiently to two broods. Connor et 
al. f 2001) documented a similar unusual case of a 
monogamous pair of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers 
successfully reining two nestlings: one nestling 
from each ot two simultaneous tree cavities. 
Apparently the male and female incubated the 
clutches alone, but each provisioned at both 
cavities. The flexible roles of woodpeckers 
suggest they may be in a transitory evolutionary 
stage where true double-clutching and uniparental 
care could evolve. However, the poor success 
from such attempts suggests bi-parental care is 
still needed to raise large or multiple broods. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
We thank Midori Mitsutam and Marika Van der Pol for 
help finding nests and radio-tracking. This research was 
funded by the Matson Foundation. NSERC Discovery 
Cram (KLW), NSERC CGS (EAG). and Isabel Maria 
Lopez Martinez Memorial Scholarship (EAG). This study 
was conducted with permits from the University of 
Saskatchewan Animal Care Committee. 
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