The Cactus Wren is native to Mexico and the United States. The range of the Cactus wren is nearing 2 million square kilometers. The global population of this species of bird is believed to be almost 9 million individual birds. At the current time, there are no immediate concerns regarding possible threats that might reduce the population or the range of the Cactus Wren. It is rated currently as Least Concern, downgraded from a prior Lower Risk rating.
Cactus Wren: Large wren with black-and-white streaked reddish-brown back, dark crown with distinctive white stripe over eyes, white chin, and heavily spotted white underparts with buff wash on sides and belly. Wings and tail are dark with white bars. Bill is long and slightly decurved.
Cactus Wren: Resident of arid and semi-arid regions in the southwest U.S. and central Mexico. Preferred habitats include deserts dominated by cholla and other succulent cacti, spiny trees, and shrubs, with high temperatures, low humidity, and scarce water.
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Gary Owen Dick
Samira Belous
The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..
Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.
The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.