Long-distance dispersal of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in Texas
Abstract
The red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) is a cooperatively breeding species indigenous to the mature pine forests of the Southeastern United States. Continued loss and fragmentation of the mature forests of the South have increased the isolation of extant woodpecker groups throughout the range of this endangered species. The authors discuss long-distance dispersal, which is likely highly sensitive to population density because birds tend to keep moving until they find a breeding vacancy.