Vampire ground finch
| Vampire ground finch | |
|---|---|
| File:Vampire finch (4229090408).jpg | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Thraupidae |
| Genus: | Geospiza |
| Species: | G. septentrionalis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Geospiza septentrionalis Rothschild & Hartert, 1899
| |
| File:Geospiza septentrionalis map.svg | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis | |
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The vampire ground finch (Geospiza septentrionalis) is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands. Endemic to Wolf and Darwin Island, it was previously considered a very distinct subspecies of the sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis),[2][3] but the International Ornithologists' Union has split the species based on strong genetic evidence that they are not closely related, and divergences in morphology and song.[4]
Description
[edit | edit source]The vampire finch is sexually dimorphic as typical for its genus, with the males being primarily black and the females grey with brown streaks. 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.[2]
Ecology
[edit | edit source]This bird is most famous for its unusual diet. When alternative sources are scarce, the vampire finch occasionally feeds by drinking the blood of other birds, chiefly the Nazca and blue-footed boobies, pecking at their skin with their sharp beaks until blood is drawn.[5][6] 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 parasites from the plumage of the booby.[7] 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. Guano and leftover fish from other predators additionally serve as diet options.[6]
Vampire ground finches drink more blood during dry seasons when seeds and other prey are scarce, resuming omnivorous predation when the rainy season begins. There were also significant variations in the intestinal microbial community structure.[8] There was a clear separation between vampire ground finches and other finches. Vampire ground finch birds have intestinal microbial communities rich in peptostreptococcaceae, similar to vampire bats.[8]
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 Island.[5] The reason for these peculiar feeding habits is the lack of fresh water on these birds' home islands. Nonetheless, the mainstay of their diet is made up from seeds and invertebrates, as in their congeners.[5]
Conservation
[edit | edit source]The vampire finch is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN based on its very restricted distribution and the impact of invasive species in its habitat.[1]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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- ^ a b 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. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 69(3): 287–317. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Rothschild, W. and E. Hartert. (1899). A Review of the Ornithology of the Galapagos Islands. With Notes on the Webster-Harris Expedition. Novitates Zoologicae Vol. VI, No. 2, pp. 85-205, 2 plates.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Schluter, Dolph & Grant, Peter R. (1984). Ecological Correlates of Morphological Evolution in a Darwin's Finch, Geospiza difficilis. Evolution 38(4): 856-869. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). (HTML abstract and first page image)
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- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
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