1982 R.L. Mumme 5 Melanerpes formicivorus Hay Blom (15 June) contact copulation! The made good full contact for ~ 3 sec, at which time the other ♂ came burrelling in at full speed from the granary. He charged into the two birds with a full head of steam, knocking everybody over, and at least two of the birds tumbled halfwiry to the ground. There followed a lot of chattering, mild chasing, and then all 3 birds charged off together in a very tight pack of 3. It looked like a "rape flight" of mallards, as the birds whirled a twisted around the territory before returning to the granary. Unfortunately, I couldn't see which ♂ was which in this spectacle. My original thought was that ♂561 was the one that flew to the granary, as he seems to have been moving away from the ♀ granary with some regularity. Also, I think my last fix on ♂562 put him on the branch where the copulation occurred. I would be positive about this, but it means that ♂561 knocked ♂562 off the ♀, and ♂562 is dominant! Leslie Earlier saw a good dominance interaction yesterday, and I saw one today as well. ♂562 gave a few sharp pecks to ♂561 around the nest hole, and ♂561 chattered.. 16 June Looking bad for ♀711. Although she went in the hole today at 0500, only one egg was laid, probably 23.9