Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing cactus wrens. Don’t leaf without subscribing, and thank you to Kristin O for today’s request. Before researching we were thinking this episode was going to be about those birds that impale their food on cactus spines, but those are called shrikes, and we’ll have to discuss them in another episode. Cactus wrens are much more civilized than their butcher bird brethren and generally don’t go about smashing their food on their homes. These birds are quite iconic in desert locales and just so happen to be the state bird of Arizona. They’re also true to their namesake and have an unsurprising preference for cactuses. Their favorite cactus is the cholla cactus which honestly seems like hard mode. I mean look at these things. Yeah, they build their nests in that. Cactus wrens are thought to be monogamous and will share a permanent breeding territory throughout the year with their partner. At the beginning of the year, the female wren will decide on the... coziest cactus... to build their nest, and the pair will get to work constructing it. Once finished, the female will lay about four eggs and start incubating them immediately. She’ll do all the incubation work while the male flies around making more nests and defending their territory. Cactus wrens are sticklers about keeping intruders out and will even deconstruct the nests of other birds found within their home range because nest sites can be really sparse in their arid homes. They may even attempt to reduce competition by spearing the eggs of neighboring birds. And here we were saying they’re civilized. That’s just diabolical.

While ahem “taking care of the neighbors”, the male will also be working on building more nests. This is because cactus wrens usually raise more than one batch of babies per year. They may have upwards of three clutches in a single year, and these extra nests provide plenty of opportunity for the female to be choosy about her favorites. Hey, whoever thought a cactus couldn’t be comfortable was wrong. The other nests that aren’t used for rearing eggs may be used for roosting in at night, so they aren’t a complete waste. It takes just over two weeks for the babies to hatch and then another three weeks for the babies to leave the nest. Even after leaving, though, they’ll stay within their parents' territory sometimes even for months, so it’s not unusual to see cactus wrens in small family groups.

To tell a cactus wren from other wrens one would be looking for the white line running atop their heads which gives them the appearance of wearing a brown cap, as well as the mottled dark brown markings on their chest. Cactus wrens are the largest wrens in the United States and average about eight inches (20 centimeters) in length. Their beaks curve slightly downwards, and their scientific name is indicative of this.

Cactus wrens can be found in the southern United States and northern Mexico, and, though they live in hot, dry places, they don’t have to worry about water because they obtain nearly all their needed water through their food. Cactus wrens eat arthropods like grasshoppers and beetles, vertebrates like lizards, and sometimes fruits and seeds. They generally forage for their food on the ground and specifically do this in the early and late parts of the day in order to avoid midday’s scorching heat. When they aren’t careful, adults may be taken by coyotes, foxes, hawks, bobcats, and domestic cats while babies, though generally protected in their spiny nest, can be prey to whipsnakes. On average cactus wrens live to be about five years old.

For more facts on cactus wren, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.