The coyote isn't endemic to Alaska, and to me, it's low population is somewhat of a mystery. Typically, when you get invasive species, they proceed to explode, frequently drowning out endemic species that fill a similar niche in the enviroment. Curiously, that's not what we've seen. Which makes me wonder a few things. Was there a species filling the coyotes niche that we don't see anymore? Were coyotes around an exceptionally long time ago, and left the niche vacant? Is there some factor limiting coyote population growth?These are all questions I can't answer - obviously, because I wouldn't be wondering them if I could!
Here's this weeks':
I apologize the first one isn't in better focus. I'm just not fast enough with the camera, I guess! But here's a small hint: It's in Alaska, and it's not a Yellow Shafted Flicker.
3 comments:
It's probably a three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus), or possibly a black-backed (P. arctus); I can't decide from the pictures, the three-toed in striped on the back like on the breast but you can't see the back in the photos; but my field guide suggests the three-toed is more common in AK than the black-backed.
I agree it looks like a woodpecker -- yellow crowned?
Immature 3-toed woodpecker?
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