Overview

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.

Listen to Call

Cactus Wren Voice

Voice Text

"guah guah guah guah guah"

• The Cactus Wren builds many nests as decoys but actually lives in just one of them. Additional nests built by males may be used to rear second and even third broods.
• Nests are built high in thorny trees and shrubs with only a narrow side entrance. In this way the birds take advantage of the plants’ natural defenses for their own protection.
• It has been the state bird of Arizona since 1931.
• A group of wrens has many collective nouns, including a "chime", "flight", "flock", and "herd" of wrens.

• Bewick's Wren
• Sage Thrasher
• Carolina Wren
• Rock Wren
• Canyon Wren

Wrens (Troglodytidae)

ORDER

The wrens are just one of the one hundred eighteen families of birds in the order PASSERIFORMES (pronounced pas-ser-i-FOR-meez); a large taxonomic order that includes other bird families with pleasant songs such as the thrushes, the vireos, and the mockingbirds.

FAMILY TAXONOMY

There are seventy-nine species of wrens in sixteen genera in the Troglodytidae (pronounced trog-luh-DIE-tuh-dee), a family mostly restricted to the New World.

NORTH AMERICA

Forty-six species of wrens in fourteen genera are found in North America. These include the familiar House Wren, the desert dwelling Cactus Wren, and the aptly named Rock Wren.

KNOWN FOR

The House Wren is known for its confiding, friendly behavior. This familiar bird species is well-named as it often occurs around human habitations, often building its nest under the eaves of roofs or in backyard nest boxes.

PHYSICAL

The wrens are small birds for the most part although the Cactus Wren is a medium-sized bird. The members of this family are rather plump birds with short wings, longish, strong legs and feet, and rather large heads with long, thin, slightly downcurved bills. Tail size varies from the very short as is the case in the wood-wrens, to longish as in the Cactus Wren.

COLORATION

Bright colors are not found in the plumages of wrens. Various shades of brown predominate, many species with black spots, barring or streaks. Some species also have white on the underparts, white eye-brows, or white spotting.

GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT

The Troglodytidae occur in most North American habitats except for the tundra. Most occur near the ground in the undergrowth of forests, scrub, desert vegetation, and second growth, while a few species are entirely terrestrial and frequent rocky areas.

MIGRATION

Wrens are non-migratory except for the Winter Wren, a short distance migrant from boreal forests to the southern United States.

HABITS

Most wren species are solitary birds that typically forage in pairs and do not join mixed flocks. They forage by using their bills to investigate dead leaf clusters, crevices, and various other hiding places used by the small creatures they prey upon.

CONSERVATION

No wren species are threatened in North America.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Winter Wren is the only wren species found outside of North America. In its large Eurasian range, it occurs in a wide variety of habitats and is a common garden bird that somewhat fills the niche of the House Wren. It also has one of the loudest songs for a bird of its size.

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Samira Belous