darwin's finches

Darwin's finches are 13 or 14 different closely related species of finches Charles Darwin discovered on the Galapagos Islands. Darwin's voyage on HMS Beagle, and the finches in particular, are known to have influenced his thinking so that he would later produce a basic theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin reasoned that there had to be a common ancestor. Later, much work was done by Peter and Rosemary Grant. The birds are all about the same size (10–20 cm). The beaks' size and shape compose the largest differences between species, as the beak is highly adapted to food source. The birds are all brownish or black. Their behaviour differs as they have different song melodies.

Genus Geospiza

Large Cactus Finch (Geospiza conirostris)
Sharp-beaked Ground Finch (Geospiza difficilis)
Medium Ground Finch (Geospiza fortis)
Small Ground Finch (Geospiza fuliginosa)
Large Ground Finch (Geospiza magnirostris)
Common Cactus Finch (Geospiza scandens)
..... (Geospiza parvula)

Genus Camarhynchus

Vegetarian Finch (Camarhynchus crassirostris syn. Platyspiza crassirostris)
Large Tree Finch (Camarhynchus psittacula)
Medium Tree Finch (Camarhynchus pauper)
Small Tree Finch (Camarhynchus parvulus)
Woodpecker Finch (Camarhynchus pallidus)

Genus Certhidea

Warbler Finch (Certhidea olivacea)

Genus Pinaroloxias

Cocos Island Finch (Pinaroloxias inornata)

Peter and Rosemary Grant

Peter and Rosemary Grant have studied these birds extensively and written a book on the subject called The Beak of the Finch

External links

Darwin, C.R. The Voyage of the Beagle Chapter 17 from Darwin's book The Voyage of the Beagle Chapter 17 in which he discusses the Galapagos islands and the birds
Different bills and song melodies
Genetics and the Origin of Birds Species, Grant and Grant in PNAS
Sato et al Phylogeny of Darwin's finches as revealed by mtDNA sequences in PNAS
http://www.cuencanet.com/ortiz/galfinches.htm

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