Galapagos Large Ground Finch by David Whited

Galapagos Large Ground Finch

David Whited

Galapagos Large Ground Finch

Digital photography

Inv: MM-2015

The Large Ground Finch (*Geospiza magnirostris*) is the biggest and most robust of Darwin's finches, easily identified by its massive, deep, parrot-like bill — an adaptation for cracking the toughest, largest seeds found on the arid lowlands of the Galápagos; adult males are entirely black while females and juveniles are streaky brown, and the species forages on the ground in dry scrub and coastal habitats across several islands, feeding mainly on large, hard seeds along with some insects, and it remains one of the classic textbook examples of adaptive radiation, illustrating how bill size and shape diverge among finch species to exploit different food sources.