Have you ever heard the singing bird of the dessert? The birds become one of the music of the dessert. The bird is known by the name Cactus Wren. It leaves in the Southwestern desserts and it has become a conspicuous sound and sight of the area. There are many types of Wrens, however the Cactus Wren is one of the largest Wrens available in the North America. It can be easily be found in the city house backyards, but they are the true dessert creatures. Like the cactus plant, they can survive for days without water.
In the dessert, the Cactus Wren is known to be the active mobber of nest predators. A researcher noted that a pair of Cactus Wren were seen attacking the Yuma antelope squirrel. They were attacking the squirrel so vigorously that the squirrel then impaled of the spikes of cholla cactus. They did not stop there. They continued to peck the Yuma antelope squirrel mercilessly until the little squirrel fell to the ground and was finally able to escape.
Another cool fact about the Cactus Wren is that they have the ability to destroy the other birds’ species nests. While there are at it, they also peck and remove the eggs of the victims. As a result of the Cactus Wren actions, another desert bird known as the Verdins has decreased in population number. The Cactus Wren, on the other hand, has increased in number. They are able to breed during the cold of the dessert night and they mob the other birds’ nests during the hot day.
The Cactus Wren feed on different insects and fruits, just like most of the other birds. They often feast on spider and dessert fruit, and sometimes they also eat amphibians as well as reptiles. When we are talking about the amphibians and reptiles, we are talking about the smaller species. As for the nest, the nest of Cactus Wren has a tunnel shaped entrance. They create the nest from plant fibers and or coarse grass.
They lined their nests with feathers and placed the nests in thorn surrounded trees of cactus. This extra security they applied to their own nests may be the result of their own behavior in mobbing others’ nests. They do not want the same thing happen to them and therefore they try to protect their nests by placing them in the secured area, the thorny area.
