Vampire Finch

The Vampire Finch (Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis) is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands. It is a very distinct subspecies of the Sharp-beaked Ground Finch (Geospiza difficilis) endemic to Wolf and Darwin IslandsGrant, Peter R.; Grant, B. Rosemary & Petren, Kenneth (2000): The allopatric phase of speciation: the sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis) on the Galápagos islands. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 69(3): 287–317.<!-- -->.

The vampire finch is sexually dimorphic as typical for its genus, with the males being primarily black and the females grey with brown streaks. It has the largest and most pointed beak of all G. difficilis subspecies, and overall looks like a miniature Common Cactus-Finch rather than, as the other subspecies do, a large Small Ground-Finch with a straight billSchluter, Dolph & Grant, Peter R. (1984): Ecological Correlates of Morphological Evolution in a Darwin's Finch, Geospiza difficilis. Evolution 38(4): 856-869. <small></small> (HTML abstract and first page image)

This bird is most famous for its unusual diet. The Vampire Finch occasionally feedsby drinking the blood of other birds, chiefly the Nazca and Blue-footed Boobies,...
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