Vampire Finch 1939708 206285707 2008-04-17T17:28:44Z Snowmanradio 626138 readability {{Taxobox | name = Vampire Finch | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[bird|Aves]] | ordo = [[Passeriformes]] | familia = [[Emberizidae]] | genus = ''[[Geospiza]]'' | species = ''[[Geospiza difficilis|G. difficilis]]'' | subspecies = '''''G. d. septentrionalis''''' | trinomial = ''Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis'' | trinomial_authority = ([[Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild|Rothschild]] & [[Ernst Hartert|Hartert]], [[1899]]) }} The '''Vampire Finch''' ('''''Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis''''') is a small [[bird]] native to the [[Galápagos Islands]]. It is a very distinct [[subspecies]] of the [[Sharp-beaked Ground Finch]] (''Geospiza difficilis'') [[endemism|endemic]] to [[Wolf Island|Wolf]] and [[Darwin Island]]s (Grant ''et al.'' 2000). The vampire finch is [[sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]] as typical for its [[genus]], with the males being primarily black and the females grey with brown streaks. It has the largest and most pointed beak of all ''G. difficilis'' subspecies, and overall looks like a miniature [[Common Cactus-Finch]] rather than, as the other subspecies do, a large [[Small Ground-Finch]] with a straight bill (Schluter & Grant 1984). It has a lilting song on Wolf, a buzzing song on Darwin, and whistling calls on both islands; only on Wolf, a drawn-out, buzzing call is also uttered.(Grant ''et al.'' 2000) This bird is most famous for its unusual diet. The Vampire Finch occasionally feeds on the blood of seabirds, chiefly the [[Nazca Booby|Nazca]] and [[Blue-footed Booby|Blue-footed Boobies]], pecking at their skin with their sharp beaks until blood is drawn (Schluter & Grant 1984). Curiously, the boobies do not offer much resistance against this. It has been theorized that this behavior evolved from the pecking behavior that the finch used to clean [[parasite]]s from the plumage of the booby{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. The finches also feed on eggs, stealing them just after they are laid and rolling them (by pushing with their legs and using their beak as a pivot) into rocks until they break. More conventionally for birds, but still unusual among ''Geospiza'', they also take [[nectar]] from [[Galápagos prickly pear]] (''Opuntia echios'' var. ''gigantea'') flowers at least on Wolf (Schluter & Grant 1984). The reasons for these peculiar feeding habits are the lack of [[freshwater]] on these birds' home islands. Nonetheless, the mainstay of their diet is made up from seeds and [[invertebrates]] as in their congeners (Schluter & Grant 1984). The vampire finch is endangered, being a small-island endemic. The Galápagos finch species collectively form a showcase example of [[Charles Darwin]]'s theory of [[natural selection]]. The 12 or 13 species of Galapagos finches are often called "[[Darwin's Finches]]", who collected and studied the differences between them. They are used as an example of how the descendants of one ancestor can evolve into several species as they adapt to different conditions. Darwin and his colleagues such as [[Alfred Russel Wallace]] are now recognised as the men who provided the foundations for the entire structure of modern biology. ==References== * '''Grant''', Peter R.; Grant, B. Rosemary & Petren, Kenneth (2000): The allopatric phase of speciation: the sharp-beaked ground finch (''Geospiza difficilis'') on the Galápagos islands. ''[[Biological Journal of the Linnean Society|Biol. J. Linn. Soc.]]'' '''69'''(3): 287–317.<!-- {{DOI|10.1006.bijl.1999.0382}} [seems broken] --> [http://www.biology.uc.edu/faculty/petren/LAB/publications/2000GrantPetrenBJLS.pdf PDF fulltext] * '''Schluter''', Dolph & '''Grant''', Peter R. (1984): Ecological Correlates of Morphological Evolution in a Darwin's Finch, ''Geospiza difficilis''. ''[[Evolution (journal)|Evolution]]'' '''38'''(4): 856-869. <small>{{DOI|10.2307/2408396}}</small> (HTML abstract and first page image) ==External links== *CentralPets.com: [http://www.centralpets.com/animals/birds/wild_birds/wbd6130.html Vampire Finch]. Retrieved 2006-DEC-19. [[Category:Geospizini]] [[Category:Endemic birds of the Galápagos Islands|Finch, Vampire]] [[it:Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis]]