Cactus Wren

The Cactus Wren is the state bird of Arizona, given that distinction by an act of the Legislature in 1931. Its natural habitat is the cactus covered desert areas which represent about five-eighths of the state.

It also has the distinction of being the largest member of the wren family but is most unwren like in appearance. It is not petite as the other members of this group. nor does it have the fidgety bob associated with the wren family.

They are wrens, however, from the very bottoms of their souls, or should we say stomachs, when it comes to food. Their comings and goings are an intense search for food, spiders, beetles. grasshoppers. They peer along eaves, the ground at the foundations of buildings, under leaves, rocks or sticks, into every corner where an insect might be, as well as through trees and shrubs. Four-fifths of their food is insects, most of which are considered injurious in some respect. The wren thrives on it, though.

PHOTOGRAPHS AND STORY BY HARRY L. AND RUTH CROCKETT

Because of this constant searching they are credited with having great curiosity, but whether curiosity or simply necessity a good thorough job is accomplished. When our daughter was small, and often playing on the ground, we were pleased to see the Cactus Wren kill and devour many young centipedes they found around the trees in our yard.

For E. L. Beal, writing in U. S. Biological Survey Bulletin No. 30, gives in an analysis of 41 stomachs of the Cactus Wren the following details: 83 per cent of the contents was animal matter, divided as follows, Hymenoptera; wasps, ants, sawflies. 27 per cent-Lepidoptera; butterflies and moths, 5 per cent-Hemiptera; true bugs, lice, plant lice, 5 per cent Orthoptera; grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, 15 per cent.

In spite of their diligence they have a carefree manner and enjoy a bit of fun. One family in our yard often played a game of follow the leader across the top of our car, sliding off the edge and finishing with a glide to the ground.

The Cactus Wren's song is also quite different from other wrens', if it can be called a song, for it is more a monotonous chut-chut-chut. Its chief variations is in rendition from low and soft, which the female probably considers romantic, to a loud, boastful "I am the ruler of this area." The song is heard throughout the year, less in winter and more in spring.

Other important characteristics, besides its size, are the brown cap, the heavily spotted throat and breast, the white line over the eye, and white spots in the outer tail feathers. It is sometimes mistaken for a Thrasher, as it runs along the ground, but its general, rich brown appearance at a distance, and on closer observation the more heavily spotted and striped white markings distinguish it from our desert Thrashers.

The Cactus Wrens have been adaptable to changing

Nest building is one of dominant traits of the Wren.

conditions. When we first met, years ago, we found them on the desert making a living under what seemed very difficult circumstances, but apparently quite content. Later we had them for neighbors on the vacant lots around us, and now since there are no more vacant lots near they build in the eucalyptus in our yard and have become part of the city picture.

Nest building is one of the most interesting activities of the Cactus Wren, and seems to be one of the dominant traits of the bird. It is one of the two birds in Arizona that build covered nests, the other being the Arizona Verdin. They are either building new or repairing old nests a greater part of the year on their desert locations. They do not migrate to a warmer climate, but the first cool evenings of September are a signal for them to start building or repairing winter nests, which are used to shelter a bird at night during the cold months. These structures are tunnels, eight to ten inches long, with a hollow ball at the end. Made of straw-like plants, both the tunnel and ball are well lined with what material is at hand. If quail or doves have been hunted in their territory the feathers are gathered for lining; where sheep have grazed they gather wool from the mesquite thorns and barbed wire. When farms with cotton fields have approached close enough, they have found that cotton makes a fine, warm padding. We have seen them travel half a mile to gather feathers from chicken pens and often such things as paper toweling and pieces of discarded clothing are utilized. The entrance to the nest tunnel seems to be spun in a swirl and the ends of the plant stems stick out in rather an unruly manner, while the ones that make the tunnel and ball are more carefully worked in and smoothed down.

Although showing a strong preference for cholla and prickly pear cacti, in which the nests are placed near the top, they will take advantage of most any convenient situation. We find their nests tucked away under the dead bayonets in the terminal branches of the Joshua tree, in the yuccas, or cradled in the arm of a giant cactus. They place them high in the branches of desert trees, as mesquite, ironwood and Palo Verde and near habitation they appear to be stuffed into vines and hedges.

Spring brings renewed activity as similar nests are built for incubation. The brooding nests vary with the location and weather. Those built early when it is still cold are heavy and are more thickly lined, and as it gets warmer the walls are made thinner and less lining is necessary. Occasionally we find a nest with two entrances, not just a hole due to a structural failure but two definite entrance tunnels. In these nests the tunnels were shorter.

The earliest we have found eggs is March 1, 1936 and the nesting activity reaches a high level by early April. April 8, 1944 we found twelve rests with one to five eggs.

This peeking into Cactus Wrens' nests is different than other nest peeking. The tunnel keeps the light out of the nest proper and is too small to get your hand through, and if you try forcing the hand through you find the cactus spines to be the birds' ally. The most satisfactry method we have found is to reflect a beam of light from

This nest in saguaro was fourteen feet from ground.

a mirror into the nest. A doctor friend saw us doing this one spring and supplemented our equipment with a long handled throat mirror. This is an advantage but the nest still must be illuminated with the first mirror.

When you do find them during incubation there usually are four or five buff colored eggs. The bird books say "four to seven creamy white thickly dotted with chestnut." In this area they seem so thickly dotted the ground color is hidden.

To make nest watching more complicated extra nests are built during this nesting period, perhaps to try out locations or maybe the mister is just trying his skill. In any event, when you find a brood nest there usually are three or four similar nests within an area of two large city lots. This practice has caused much confusion. The first bird observers sized them up and decided the Cactus Wrens nested in colonies, leaving it to the later observers to discover they were dummy nests or as some call them "Cocks nests." They do serve the purpose of sheltering the adult bird that is not brooding the eggs at night and the young when old enough to leave the brooding nest. They also serve to confuse their enemies and photographers. One spring we had the camera set up at a brooding nest hoping to get a picture of a parent entering the nest. Instead of returning, the adults entered a dummy nest, about 45 feet away, with food and set up such a fuss we were sure we had made a mistake and came out of the blind to check.

Most people upon examining a Gactus Wren's nest in a cactus say, "Well, they are safe, nothing can get into that nest." We have found this theory to be in error. In one case a rattlesnake went up a cholla blanca, entered the nest and swallowed the three young. From this point is conjecture, but we believe the parents attacked the snake as it was trying to get away and in striking at them it was caught on the spines. A picture in this series shows the dried snake as we found it festooned across the cholla with three young birds in its stomach.

The cactus spines also are a hazard. Generally the birds come and go with ease, but almost every year, as we work on the desert, we find a tragedy has occurred. They get a toe caught between the spines and in the struggle to free themselves pull it tighter and are held to perish of exhaustion and exposure. These are usually young birds but in one case it was an adult that had started to build a nest.

Attracting the Cactus Wrens to a spot for photography, away from the nest, offered a problem and a challenge. As they hunt insects extensively our food offering seemed of no interest to them. They would look it over fleetingly and always on the move. One day we found a very badly infected ash tree which had been cut down and brought a section of the trunk to our back yard. This apparently was just what they had been looking for. As the insects were eaten we supplemented particles of meat scrapings, later cheese particles and suet. When the insect supply was finally exhausted they had acquired a taste for our food and have taught their young to eat it. Now all we need to do is to develop their taste for posing more quietly and in full light. So far we have found them uncooperative.

Rattlesnake foe of Wren was caught on sharp thorns.