Really Charlie? Darwin and the Finches

I think it’s fairly clear by now that I am not a very good birder  Recognizing this even as I travel, I buy a guide to Birds of the Galapagos to help me identify them.  Some are easy, like blue-footed boobies and oystercatchers with their bright orange beaks. The male frigate bird’s bright red pouch stands out even when it isn’t fully inflated to attract a female.

Male frigate bird, pouch partially inflated

 Other birds—not so easy for me to identify.  For example, I occasionally mix up finches and mockingbirds.  (Birders are now cringing.)

Hood (?) mockingbird

Some people can identify several kinds of finches in the Galapagos.  With notes from the trip to guide me through my photos, a lot of  research and comparisons, I could spot a few differences.  I have to admit it….I am not a very good birder.  

In 1835, Charles Darwin was the naturalist on the HMS  Beagle mapping the waters around South America. Darwin identified thirteen medium ground finches (many of them on Santiago), and determined they all descended from a single pair that arrived about a million years ago. Thirteen different finches.

Which makes me want to ask, “Really, Charlie?  You saw *that* many differences?

 

In my efforts to better identify different finches, I came across

https://myweb.rollins.edu/jsiry/Grants%27finch-study.html  where drawings help highlight the different ways the the birds have adapted.  Perhaps it will help you.  I can see the minor differences that make a major difference in survival-- the length of a beak, how pointed it is....   As I make my way through the islands, I do see varied and unique traits.  

In spite of my self-effacing sarcasm,  I admit that the astonishing variety of life continues to amaze me.  I am in awe of those who  recognize variations that are so subtle, they suggest slightly different birds evolved from the same bird.  I am a little overwhelmed to realize that here, looking at these little finches, the theories of natural selection and evolution were born.

But I know I will never be a good birder.  So once again, I welcome comments and feedback.