All species › Passerines › Tanagers and allies › Espanola Cactus Finch
Espanola Cactus Finch | Geospiza conirostris
Españolagrondvink | Pinzón cactero de Española | Tentilhão-dos-cactos-de-española
The Espanola Cactus Finch is a large Darwin's finch found only on Española and the nearby islet of Gardner. It is closely tied to the tree-like Opuntia cacti of the island. Its heavy, pointed bill is intermediate between those of Common Cactus Finch and Large Ground Finch, which matches the absence of both species from Española.
Voice
The song is a short, simple phrase, often repeated; each male sings a single song type, learned when young. The call is a dry chip.
Recording: Eric DeFonso — CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
15 cm, with a large, deep but pointed bill and a fairly large head. Adult males are entirely black, with whitish edges to the undertail coverts; younger males are partly black. Females and young birds are greyish brown above and heavily streaked dark below, with a paler bill. The bill is black in the breeding season, horn-coloured outside it.
Confusion species
Small Ground Finch Geospiza fuliginosa, the only other ground finch regularly found on Española, is much smaller, with a small, conical bill. Grey Warbler-Finch Certhidea fusca is small and greyish brown, with a thin bill. Genovesa Cactus Finch Geospiza propinqua and Common Cactus Finch Geospiza scandens have a longer, less deep bill and live on other islands.
Habitat
The arid lowland zone with tree-like Opuntia cacti, shrubs and open lava ground, also close to the coast. It eats seeds, fruit, flowers and nectar of Opuntia, tears open the cactus fruits, and also takes seeds from the ground and insects from under bark and in rotting cactus wood. The nest is usually built in an Opuntia.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
Endemic to the Galápagos, only on Española and the islet of Gardner off Española. Absent from the other islands and from mainland Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
- Resident
How and when to look
Seen at the visitor sites on Española, such as Punta Suárez and Bahía Gardner, especially at Opuntia cacti in the arid zone. The birds are tame.
Conservation status
Vulnerable, because of its very small range on a single island and an islet. Numbers fluctuate strongly with dry years and El Niño. Recovery of cactus vegetation after the removal of goats is favourable; the introduced parasitic fly Philornis downsi is a threat.
Scientific name
Geospiza conirostris | Ridgway, 1890
Ridgway described the species in 1890 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Geospiza was introduced in 1837 by Gould. The genus name comes from Greek gē, 'earth, ground', and spiza, 'finch': a ground finch. The species name comes from Latin conus, 'cone', and -rostris, 'billed': cone-billed. The specimen the first description was based on came from Española Island, Galápagos.