Sharp-beaked ground finch

The sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis) is a species of bird in the Darwin's finch group of the tanager family Thraupidae. It is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and it is native to the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador.[1] It has a mass of around 20 grams (0.71 oz) and the males have black plumage, while females have streaked brown plumage.[2] This finch was described by Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1888.[3]

Sharp-beaked ground finch
female on Genovesa Island
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Genus: Geospiza
Species:
G. difficilis
Binomial name
Geospiza difficilis
Sharpe, 1888

This relatively small, slender-billed finch is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where it is found on Fernandina, Santiago, Pinta, Genovesa, Darwin, and Wolf Islands.[2] On the first three islands, it breeds in the humid highlands and disperses afterwards, but on the remaining smaller and lower islands the sharp-beaked ground finch is found in the arid zone year-round. Due to habitat destruction its range has decreased. It was formerly also present in the highlands of several other islands, and it is possible it still occurs on Isabela.[2]

Both the vampire ground finch and the Genovesa ground finch were considered subspecies. The International Ornithologists' Union have split them, while other taxonomic authorities still consider them conspecific.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Geospiza difficilis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Sharp-beaked ground finch media from ARKive
  3. "Geospiza difficilis". Avibase. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
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