Awhile back I mentioned a rehabber friend having two young orphaned Pileated Woodpeckers she was caring for. There's good news and bad news... The li'l tykes progressed well and when close to fledging were moved into a large pen. One quickly left their "box" nest for higher environs, but the other stayed behind, and unfortunately was taken by a snake that gained entry into the pen. Here's a pic of the other bird after "fledging" to give some indication of the size of the bird victimized (it was a big snake!):
One of the mysteries of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers has long been their possible low reproductive success --- and so I can't help but wonder how much snake predation was a significant factor.
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