Canyon Wren Nesting in a Tree Cavity in the Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona

The Canyon Wren (Catherpes mexicanus) is a fairly common, insectivorous songbird that inhabits steep-sided canyons in arid habitats throughout western North America. This species possesses a unique and melodious song that is easily recognizable, and as a result its presence is readily detected. Despite this high detectability, its secretive foraging behavior and tendency to build its nests in steep and concealed locations, often inaccessible to humans, mean that its breeding biology is still understudied (Jones and Dieni 2020). Here we present observations and novel information related to a pair of Canyon Wrens nesting in a tree cavity, the first known documentation of this nest site selection.