If one bird discovers the feeder, then it might bring the rest of the flock with it. The house finch is one of the most common attractions at bird feeders.The color of the house finch will change based on what type of vegetation it consumes.Despite being almost exclusively herbivorous, the house finch is a bird that may accidentally eat insects while foraging for other food.You can often hear their bright and cheerful voices in the spring and summer even without seeing them. Though birds are easily spotted in the Galapagos, we have some useful tips if you want to increase your chances of spotting this particular animal.The house finch is one of the most common bird species in all of North America.įeaturing colorful plumage and a stout bill well-adapted for seed-eating, the house finch is a member of the true finch family (scientific name Fringillidae). This involves rolling them around into rocks until they break open and then greedily extract the golden juices from within. Incapable of cracking through the tough shell with their beaks, they’ve actually come up with a clever way to break the eggs using their environment. Vampire Finches are also slightly more terrifying due to the fact that they go after baby boobies and eggs too. Perhaps they still think that the vampire finches are removing parasites or, even more disturbing – have completely resigned themselves to the fact that nothing will make them (and their large numbers) stop.Ĭheck out the following video to see for yourself (WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised): What’s interesting to note is that the boobies often seem pretty laissez-fare with the whole ordeal. The Vampire Finch feeds chiefly on the Nazca and blue-footed booby, relentlessly pecking at their backs and under their wings until a steady stream of nutritious blood comes drizzling out. Speaking of which… Bound for Booby Blood and Eggs Maybe they accidentally struck “red gold” one day when they picked a little too hard into the back of a booby. It’s not completely implausible to consider that the Vampire Finches actually provided a service to the birds it now preys on for blood. Scientists believe that this acquired, flesh-puncturing beak may be an extension of a former cleaning behavior that involved the removal of ticks from other birds. With the largest and most pointed beak of all the members of Geospiza difficilis, the Vampire Finch acquired this sharp tool for reasons that mainly have to do with the drawing of blood. The common scarcity of freshwater and seeds on Wolf is what has led them to develop this bizarre, blood-drinking behavior. But when tough times are upon them (and not only when darkness falls) does the Vampire Finch truly live up to its name in an apt and horrifying way. With a diet that consists primarily of seeds and insects, the Vampire Finch seems misnamed at first. But necessity has always been the mother of invention, especially when it comes to evolution. Starvation seems imminent on a desolate and eerie island such as this one. Seeds that do manage to pop up throughout its terrain are promptly eaten by ravenous seabirds. Most of the year sees the island, which is home to thousands of seabirds, pounded by waves and practically zero rainfall. The island is a stone fortress of steep, grey cliffs and an iconic stone arch formation that almost makes it look like Dracula’s discarded castle. Aside from scientists that are allowed to research wildlife on the island, the only other human presence tends to be scuba divers that only come to bask in its waters. As if to add to the mystery of the island and the Vampire Finch that lives here, the Galapagos National Park forbids any visitor landings here. Wolf Island sits approximately 200 km (120 miles) northwest of the main cluster of islands in the Galapagos. As the name implies, it’s a parasitic bird that evolved to acquire its food in a really peculiar way. Enter the Vampire Finch, a character in the Galapagos’ never-ending book of evolution that’s both equal parts incredible and disturbing. Isolated and enigmatic, the enchanted isles seem like the perfect bubble of mischief for unusual things to evolve, stir, and flutter about.
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