Small Tree Finch

A juvenile Small Tree Finch (Geospiza parvula) on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos. Its relatively small and strongly curved beak is adapted to feeding on trees and the insects that frequent them; I photographed others hanging acrobatically on leaves.

There are 13 species of finches on the Galapagos Islands, which ornithologists believe have evolved from a single original ancestor which reached the islands many millennia ago. The main differential feature is the finch's beak, which has developed in each species according to its main food and feeding habits. Darwin came to see the Galapagos finches as a key supporting element in his theory of evolution, and they have come to be called "Darwin's finches."

The other finch in this series is the Cactus Finch.

(Backblipped--for an overview, see 20 July)