Opuntia ground finch
| Opuntia ground finch | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opuntia ground finch, male |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Geospiza conirostris | ||||||||||||
| Ridgway , 1890 |
The Opuntia ground finch ( Geospiza conirostris ), also known as the great cactus finch , is a songbird species that belongs to the Darwinian finches . These are now counted among the Tangaren (Thraupidae), earlier also to the Ammern (Emberizidae).
description
The female has a reddish beak and the plumage is white, brown with black. The males have a darker beak and black plumage throughout. The Opuntia ground finch has a larger beak on Española Island than on Genovesa .
Distribution and way of life
Opuntia ground finch occurs mainly on cacti on Española, Tower (Genovesa) and Darwin.
The long and strong beak is particularly suitable for eating seeds and insects. He also eats fruits and cactus flowers.
Since it is the only bird with a large beak on Española , it fills the ecological niche between the middle ground finch ( G. fortis ) and the large ground finch ( G. magnirostris ).
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings on Geospiza conirostris in the Internet Bird Collection
- Geospiza conirostris inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2013.