Great Ground Finch

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Great Ground Finch
Great Ground Finch (male)

Great Ground Finch (male)

Systematics
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Family : Tangaren (Thraupidae)
Subfamily : Coerebinae
without rank: Darwin's finches (Geospicini)
Genre : Ground finches ( Geospiza )
Type : Great Ground Finch
Scientific name
Geospiza magnirostris
Gould , 1837

The large ground finch ( Geospiza magnirostris ), and Large Ground Finch is called with a body length of 16 centimeters a medium-sized representative of the family of tanagers .

Appearance

The females have brown dorsal plumage with short black stripes, the belly is white with many brown spots, the rest of the body is gray. The males are completely black on the head, back and belly. The plumage is slightly lighter on the underside of the tail. The legs are colored black. The large, strong and massive bill is gray in the male and orange in the female.

Great Ground Finch (female)
Males and females of the great ground finch

Distribution and way of life

This species is only found in the Galapagos Islands . There they inhabit the arid areas. They eat seeds and occasionally insects with their powerful beak.

Reproduction

In the breeding season, the males occupy a territory. In this, the male builds several wide domed nests from grass, lichens and twigs, which are located on cacti at a height of 1 to 9 meters, in order to attract a female for courtship. If the canvassing is successful, the female will expand a nest of the male or build a completely new nest. The female lays 2 to 5 eggs in the nest. After about 12 days, the young hatch, which the parent birds take care of for up to 2 weeks in the nest. If the weather conditions and the food supply allow it, the birds make several eggs a year.

Hazards and protective measures

Due to its widespread distribution and because no threats are known for this species, the IUCN classifies this species as least concern .

literature

  • The great encyclopedia of birds : pp. 319, 321 (German translation from English) Publisher: Orbis Verlag, 1996 ISBN 3-572-00810-7
  • The great world empire of the animals Page: 370, 371 Publisher: Planet Media AG, Zug 1992 ISBN 3-8247-8614-1

Web links

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