Galapagos Finch

Track how Galapagos finches underwent adaptive radiation from a single ancestral lineage and their contribution to Darwin's theory of evolutionSee all videos for this article

Galapagos finch, also called Darwin’s finch, distinctive group of birds whose radiation into several ecological niches in the competition-free isolation of the Galapagos Islands and on Cocos Island gave the English naturalist Charles Darwin evidence for his thesis that “species are not immutable.”

Know how the Galapagos finches from Charles Darwin's specimen collection helped him in the formulation of his theory of evolution, particularly the woodpecker finchSee all videos for this article

The three genera (Geospiza, Camarhynchus, and Certhidea), including 14 species, are placed in the songbird family Emberizidae (order Passeriformes) and in a distinct subfamily, Geospizinae. All are 10–20 cm (4–8 inches) long and of brownish or black coloration; they differ greatly, however, in the configuration of their bills, which are suited to their diverse feeding habits. Two species—the woodpecker finch (Camarhynchus pallidus) and the mangrove finch (C. heliobates)—use cactus spines to probe for grubs.