This is Bird Note.

Perched atop a cactus in the American Southwest,

a strikingly patterned brown bird sings a gravelly refrain.

It's harsh for boating quality seems to capture the mood

of the arid, thorn-studded landscape.

Our singer is the size of a red-winged blackbird,

but it's a ren, a very large one called the cactus ren.

Most rens in North America are small, furtive birds

that stay deep in the vegetation.

The bold, brassy cactus ren is the northernmost species

of a group of tropical renns,

all big renns with complex social behavior.

You might see a whole family group of cactus renns

foraging together in search of large insects and cactus fruits.

These renns are well adapted to the desert

and can get all the moisture they need from their food.

Cactus renns are a regular site

in their range of dry habitats from West Texas to California.

The nest looks like a football made of twigs,

stuck horizontally in a thorny tree or choia cactus.

The nest is easily seen but well guarded by the spiky vegetation.

For Burtnote, I'm Mary McCann.

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