California Partners in Flight Coastal Shrub and Chaparral Bird Conservation Plan Coastal Cactus Wren ( Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus ) Photo by James Gallagher, Sea and Sage Audubon Prepared by: Christopher W. Solek (
[email protected]) University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA 94720 Dr. Laszlo J. Szijj (
[email protected]) Biological Sciences Department California State Polytechnic University, Pomona RECOMMENDED CITATION: Solek, C. and L. Szijj. 2004. Cactus Wren ( Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus ). In The Coastal Scrub and Chaparral Bird Conservation Plan: a strategy for protecting and managing coastal scrub and chaparral habitats and associated birds in California. California Partners in Flight. http://www.prbo.org/calpif/htmldocs/scrub.html Range Map: ACTION PLAN SUMMARY Species: Coastal Cactus Wren ( Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) Status: A coastal population from San Diego County was nominated for subspecies status as C. b. sandiegensis in 1990 and subsequently proposed for Federal Threatened status in 1991. Since this subspecies designation was not recognized by the American Ornithologists’ Union Committee on Classification and Nomenclature, the San Diego population was declined for Federal Threatened listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1994. Habitat Needs: Coastal sage scrub with patches of tall Opuntia cacti for nesting and breeding. This coastal population appears to nest almost exclusively in Opuntia cacti of at least 1 m in height. Protection of habitat areas with this vegetation type and structure should be a high priority. Concerns: Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation are the most critical management issues facing this species. Although the species appears capable of sustaining breeding populations in small, fragmented areas containing suitable habitat, isolation of coastal populations due to urban fragmentation may be promoting loss of genetic variation within these smaller populations and compromise long-term metapopulation viability.