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...and survival traits as other comparable types of birds, such as the way in which they gather food, prepare nests and tend to their young; however, one particularly unique characteristics the acorn woodpecker displays is what researchers have termed polygynandry, a "rare mating system" (Koenig et al, 2002, p. 151) where father/son or brothers compete together in the mating ritual, while cobreeder females (typically mother/daughter or sisters) "lay their eggs communally in the same next cavity" (p. 151). Koenig et al (2002), who discuss the importance of this behavior from a ecosocial point of view, cite advantages of group living found in acorn woodpecker populations as being more beneficial for males because of "higher survival rates" (p. 152) when compared with their female counterparts, as well as there being greater constraints upon independent breeding "based on the lower proportion of males that achieve independent breeding positions" (p. 152). These findings indicate how breeding occurrence and frequency is governed more directly by dominant males over dominant females "before subordinates will...