page_title: Cactus wren
section_title: Feeding
hierarchical_section_title: Cactus wren / Behavior and ecology / Feeding
caption_attribution_description: Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus English: A Cactus Wren in Tucson, Arizona, USA.
context_page_description: The cactus wren is a species of wren endemic to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. It is the state bird of Arizona, and the largest wren in the United States. Their coloration is brown with black and white spots as markings. They have a distinctive white eyebrow that sweeps to the nape of the neck. The chest is white, whereas the underparts are cinnamon-buff colored. Both sexes appear similar. The tail, as well as flight feathers, are barred in black and white. Their song is a loud raspy chirrup; akin – in the description of some ornithologists – to the sound of a car engine that will not start. They are well-adapted to their native desert environment, and can meet their water needs from their diet which consists chiefly of insects, but also of some plant matter. The cactus wren is a poor flier, and generally forages for food on the ground. Ornithologists generally recognize seven subspecies, with the exact taxonomy under dispute.
  Their common name derives from their frequenting desert cactus plants such as the saguaro and cholla, building nests, roosting, and seeking protection from predators among them.
context_section_description: The cactus wren is primarily an insectivore. It will also take seeds, fruits, nectar, and even small reptiles. They are inquisitive foragers, and will overturn leaves and other objects on the ground to find food. Though primarily ground feeders, they will also forage in larger plants. Some individuals have learned to take insects caught in vehicle radiator grills. Feeding begins in the late morning. As temperatures rise they seek out shaded areas in order to forage in cooler environments. This is partly to conserve water and to thermoregulate, but also because their insect prey is more sluggish and thus easier to catch in cool temperatures. The cactus wren can survive as a true xerophile, existing without any free water, as it receives almost all water from its diet. Eating cactus fruits is an important source of water, and individuals have been seen drinking cactus sap from wounds inflicted by Gila woodpeckers. Cactus wrens also sip nectar from saguaro blossoms and eat insects trapped within, serving as pollinators in the process.:187 Parents feed young with whole insects, although they may first remove wings or legs. One study found that the average caloric needs of a developing chick is about 15 medium-sized grasshoppers per day.
caption: With freshly caught insect prey, showing the preference for ground feeding
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