Monday 26 September 2022

It Looks Like A Common Sparrow,

but it is unique to Darwin and Wolf Islands in the Galapagos Archipelago,


photograph Joseph C. Boone/Wikimedia Commons it is in fact a finch, that when its normal food of seeds and invertebrates runs short, it turns into a vampire, yes a vampire finch! (Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis),

the Nazca and blue-footed booby are the two primary victims of the vampire finch, experts believe that is because this unusual diet evolved from a much more common behaviour that finches are known for – pecking at parasites on the plumage and skin of larger birds, basically, Nazca and boobies don’t perceive the finch’s pecking as a threat,

looking at the videos the birds pecking seems to be more of a minor nuisance, the vampire finch is sexually dimorphic, the males are black whereas the females are greyish with brown streaks, as an adaption to its characteristic way of life, the vampire finch has evolved the largest and most pointed beak of all the sharp-beaked ground finch subspecies, I have to say it, the Galapagos Islands is one of the many places I would love to visit.


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