Santa Cruz Island
The highly specialized technique evolved by the woodpecker finch can only be seen in some well-defined habitats. Today we are exploring the Scalesia (a genus endemic to the Galápagos) forest, admiring the bright colors of the vermillion flycatcher, when our attention gets diverted by a pair of finches that land right on top of us. At first they look like any other finch, since the 13 species are rather similar. But then we start seeing how the slightly curved beak of the finch removes the bark of the giant daisy where he has landed. Like the finches, these sunflowers evolved millions of years ago and here in the highlands of Santa Cruz the Scalesia pedunculata grows to 30 feet tall. This is the ideal environment for the woodpecker finch to find its food. Its technique consists in pecking the trunk of these trees to find hollowness, this may be a good indicator of the presence of worms, which they feed on. Once they have a positive identification, they pick a tool, normally a twig, which will help them to dig out the worm that lives under the bark of the sunflower-trees.
We are lucky this time, we have seen it all, and we can be delighted by the efficient work of this finch that you can only see in one place on earth, the Galápagos!
The highly specialized technique evolved by the woodpecker finch can only be seen in some well-defined habitats. Today we are exploring the Scalesia (a genus endemic to the Galápagos) forest, admiring the bright colors of the vermillion flycatcher, when our attention gets diverted by a pair of finches that land right on top of us. At first they look like any other finch, since the 13 species are rather similar. But then we start seeing how the slightly curved beak of the finch removes the bark of the giant daisy where he has landed. Like the finches, these sunflowers evolved millions of years ago and here in the highlands of Santa Cruz the Scalesia pedunculata grows to 30 feet tall. This is the ideal environment for the woodpecker finch to find its food. Its technique consists in pecking the trunk of these trees to find hollowness, this may be a good indicator of the presence of worms, which they feed on. Once they have a positive identification, they pick a tool, normally a twig, which will help them to dig out the worm that lives under the bark of the sunflower-trees.
We are lucky this time, we have seen it all, and we can be delighted by the efficient work of this finch that you can only see in one place on earth, the Galápagos!
