This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0016_01BEACDF.5837F7E0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Dexter Hinckley wrote: >Quoting from page 74 in Ehrlich, Dobkin, & Wheye (1988) >"Birder's Handbook.:" > >"Clutches of 15-50 result from 2-10+ females contibuting >to individual nests..." > >Apparently this "dumping" increases with increased density >of nest boxes, although the female will try to repel the >parasitizing females from her nest. > >Dex Hinckley >703-354-1342 > > >At 10:54 PM 6/1/1999 EDT, KurtCapt87@aol.com wrote: >>Paul,=20 >> >>Of course there were more than one brood. Likely three. (There are = no=20 >>records of a Wood Duck with 17 offspring.) This behavior is common = with=20 >>Canada Geese - at Dyke Marsh at this moment there are two (prob young = - one=20 >>or two year old) parents with 50 goslings. >> >>Kurt Gaskill I agree that there are two broods, but I don't remember ever seeing a = similar situation in Wood Ducks. Of course with Canada Geese it happens = all the time. I have often seen broods of a dozen or more woodies soon = after they have left the nest. As Dex points out , the reason for the very large broods is more than = one female laying eggs in the same nest. The only problem I have with = this explanation is the significant size difference in this group. = Since they leave the nest soon after they hatch I am not sure how one = female could be with one group on the water and still incubate the = remaining eggs. Paul Woodward ------=_NextPart_000_0016_01BEACDF.5837F7E0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">