Nest-site selection by Levaillant’s Woodpecker Picus vaillantii in the Aurès Mountains of northeastern Algeria

Abstract

We investigated ecological factors that influence the presence of nests of Levaillant’s Woodpecker Picus vaillantii in the Aurès Mountains of northeastern Algeria. Surveys carried out during the breeding season in 2018 and 2019, using point counts combined with extensive nest searching around each point at 72 random stations, allowed us to detect 44 nests against 28 unoccupied points. Using data on trees, deadwood, snags, canopy cover at the nest site, and elevation, we developed models reflecting landscape structure and forest composition. The results indicate that P. vaillantii prefers nesting in high-altitude forests and in dense canopies with high elevation. This reflects the importance of the forest composition, which is related to altitude, and the landscape structure, represented by the canopy cover, for the breeding of this species.