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Cactus Wren In Birdhouse
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About This Image
This is Arizona's state bird, the Cactus Wren. This one is adding some nice soft feathers to the inside of this birdhouse I built years ago. It has a great view and close to free food and a big birdbath.
They sound like a old car trying to start. The cactus wren has a distinctive white stripe over each eye and a longer than usual tail, which it does not normally cock up.
Cactus wrens frequent areas with thorny shrubs, cacti, and forage mostly on the ground around vegetation for insects, beetles, ants, wasps, grasshoppers, and occasionally lizards. Some cactus fruit and berries along with seeds are also some of the things they like.
The wrens can run swiftly but usually fly if traveling any distance. Nests are made for roosting in at night and for shelter when the weather gets bad. The breeding season begins in March or April, and there may be up to three broods. Usually 4 to 5 eggs are laid and then incubated by the female for about 16 days.
The nest is a bulky, domed structure, made of plant fibers, twigs and dead leaves, with a tube-like side entrance that can be up to six inches long. It is lined with fur or feathers. The nest is situated on a prickly Cholla cactus or amid sharp leaves of a Yucca or other thorny bush.
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