Vampire ground finch

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Vampire ground finch
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Genus: Geospiza
Species:
G. septentrionalis
Binomial name
Geospiza septentrionalis
Synonyms

Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis

The vampire ground finch (Geospiza septentrionalis) is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands. It was considered a very distinct subspecies of the sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis) endemic to Wolf and Darwin Islands.[2][3] The International Ornithologists' Union has split the species supported by strong genetic evidence that they are not closely related, and divergences in morphology and song.[4]

Description

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

This bird is most famous for its unusual diet. When alternative sources are scarce, the vampire finch occasionally feeds by

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. Finally 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 peptostreptococcacea. Similarly, vampire bats also possess peptostreptococcacea in their gut flora.[8]

More conventionally for birds, but still unusual among Geospiza, they also take

invertebrates, as in their congeners.[5]

Conservation

The vampire finch is classified as

IUCN based on its very restricted distribution and the impact of invasive species in its habitat.[1]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T103815245A182414024.en
    . Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  2. ^
    doi:10.1006/bijl.1999.0382
  3. ^ 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.
  4. S2CID 205123574
    .
  5. ^
    doi:10.2307/2408396
    (HTML abstract and first page image)
  6. ^
    PMID 30231937
    .
  7. ISBN 978-0-8133-7979-1
    .
  8. ^
    PMID 31154984
    .

External links
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