Overlap in molt and breeding phenology in the hispaniolan woodpecker (melanerpes striatus)

Abstract

Molt patterns, often useful for determining age of individuals and, hence, demographic structure of a population, are generally poorly known for resident Neotropical birds. Neotropical woodpeckers are no exception to this latitudinal bias. We focused on the Hispaniolan Woodpecker (Melanerpes striatus) to study molt in regards to age and phenology. The objectives of this study were: (1) to provide the first description of the Hispaniolan Woodpecker's molt pattern, and (2) to describe the relationship of molt within the breeding phenology. For six consecutive breeding seasons (March-July) from 2012 to 2017, we monitored a color‐banded population of the Hispaniolan Woodpeckers in a mid‐elevation (~ 600 m a.s.l.) landscape of wet forest fragments and cattle pastures in the Dominican Republic. We analyzed standardized photos taken during banding sessions to characterize patterns of retained and replaced feathers, resulting in an accurate method for aging. We found similarities in primary covert replacement and differences in secondary replacement patterns to those of congeners. Breeding birds, regardless of sex, were just as likely to be molting as non‐breeding birds showing breeding‐molt overlap. We suggest possible reasons for this pattern occurring in primarily tropical avian taxa including ample availability of resources and parasitism defense. This is one of the only studies to document this on an individual rather than population level.