Type: journal article

Article abstract: Our earlier papers on the life history of the Cactus Wren (Campylmkynckus brunneicapillus) in the vicinity of Tucson, Arizona (1957, 1959, 1960, and 1961), covered the nesting cycle up to the time the young left the nest. The present paper decribes the activities of the young wrens from fledging to attainment of independence. We have divided the first year of a Cactus Wren’s life into four periods which we define as follows: A nestling is a wren still in the nest. When it leaves the nest for the first time, it becomes a fledgling and it remains in this category until independence is reached. From then on it is termed a juvenal bird until the postjuvenal molt in the fall of the year is terminated. After the completion of this molt the wren is an immature: but it is indistinguishable in the field from its parents.