Birds at Work
Year-round vegetation and adequate food and
water sources in the Sonoran Desert attract many
residents and migrating birds, who then act as
highly efficient protectors and propagators of the
plants in which they live. By eating insects which
would otherwise destroy shrubbery and dining off
the desert's fruits and flowers, they scatter seed
and fertilize the soil.
Look for the curve-billed thrasher and cactus wren
nesting in cholla. Gila woodpeckers and gilded
flickers dart continuously in and out of their
saguaro nests. The migratory white-winged dove
can be seen in spring and summer immersed
neck-deep in saguaro fruit.
You might see a family of Gambel's quil scurrying
single-file, looking for dropped seeds, or a
roadrunner stalking insects, lizards and even
rattlesnakes.
Don't miss the rest of our virtual tour of Saguaro National Park in 687 images.