One of the 4 finches on WAnimals
Birds · Passeriformes · Thraupidae
Large Ground-Finch
Geospiza magnirostris
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The large ground finch is the largest of Darwin's finches and the one with the stoutest bill, able to crack the hardest seeds in the archipelago. It is one of the species behind the longest field study of evolution in action in the world: from 1973, Peter and Rosemary Grant spent forty years measuring the bills of the finches of Daphne Major island and documenting how they changed from one generation to the next with droughts and rains.
Weight
30 g – 40 g
Size
15 cm – 17 cm
Lifespan
12 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- GeneralOne of Darwin's finches: the size of its bill shifts with the droughts.
- The Grants documented evolution happening in real time: after the drought of 1977 only the individuals with the largest bills survived, able to crack the last hard seeds, and the average bill size of the population increased measurably within a single generation.
- In 1981 a hybrid male from another island arrived on Daphne Major, and within three generations his descendants had formed a reproductively isolated lineage: a speciation event watched from beginning to end by human beings.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Arid scrub and the coastal zone of the islands
- Birth weight
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Size at birth
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Sexual maturity
- 12 months
- Gestation / incubation
- 12 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 4 eggs
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geospiza_magnirostris
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in the Galápagos, by day; between January and April, with the rains, song and breeding intensify.
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Large Ground-Finch — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Peruvian Booby
Sula variegata
Paradise Tanager
Tangara chilensis
Least ConcernBlue-footed Booby
Sula nebouxii
Least ConcernMagnificent Frigatebird
Fregata magnificens
Common Land Iguana
Conolophus subcristatus
Short-eared Owl
Asio flammeus
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about large ground-finch.
Comments
Share an experience, a fun fact or a tip for seeing the large ground-finch.
Be the first to comment.