The sharp-beaked ground finch (''Geospiza difficilis'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the

Darwin's finch Darwin's finches (also known as the Galápagos finches) are a group of about 18 species of passerine birds. They are well known for being a classic example of adaptive radiation and for their remarkable diversity in beak form and function. The ...

group of the

tanager The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family (biology), family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12 ...

family

Thraupidae The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family (biology), family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12 ...

. It is classified as a

least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

and it is native to the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. It has a mass of around and the males have black plumage, while females have streaked brown plumage. This finch was described by

Richard Bowdler Sharpe Richard Bowdler Sharpe (22 November 1847 – 25 December 1909) was an English people, English zoologist and ornithology, ornithologist who worked as curator of the bird collection at the British Museum of natural history. In the course of his car ...

in 1888. This relatively small, slender-billed finch is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

, where it is found on Fernandina,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Pinta, Genovesa, Darwin, and Wolf Islands. On the first three islands, it breeds in the humid highlands and disperses afterwards, but on the remaining smaller and lower islands the sharp-beaked ground finch is found in the arid zone year-round. Due to

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

its range has decreased. It was formerly also present in the highlands of several other islands, and it is possible it still occurs on Isabela. Both the

vampire ground finch The vampire ground finch (''Geospiza septentrionalis'') is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands. Endemic to Wolf and Darwin Island, it was previously considered a very distinct subspecies of the sharp-beaked ground finch (''Geospiza di ...

and the

Genovesa ground finch The Genovesa ground finch (''Geospiza acutirostris'') is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands. It was considered a subspecies of the sharp-beaked ground finch (''Geospiza difficilis'') endemic to Genovesa Island.Grant, Peter R.; Grant, ...

were considered subspecies. The

International Ornithologists' Union The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", ...

have split them based on strong genetic, morphological, and song evidence, while other taxonomic authorities still consider them conspecific.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q585217 sharp-beaked ground finch Endemic birds of the Galápagos Islands sharp-beaked ground finch Taxonomy articles created by Polbot