Monster Monday: Dracula’s Songbird
May 9, 2016
You may be surprised to see a cute little songbird on Monster Monday. But then, you may not have met the vampire finch (Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis). This small songbird earns its name from its sometimes gruesome diet. When such food as insects or seeds are scarce, the vampire finch attacks other animals and drinks their blood. You may want to put some garlic (said to ward off vampires) in the bird feeder next time.
A vampire finch contemplates its meal.
Credit: © Minden Pictures/SuperStock
Finches are any of a number of small, colorful songbirds. Popular finches include towhees, goldfinches, buntings, and grosbeaks. Their beautiful songs make them a welcome sight at most backyard bird feeders. The vampire finch is found only on some islands in the Galapagos Island chain in the Pacific Ocean about 600 miles (1000 kilometers) west of Ecuador. The Galapagos became famous after the British naturalist Charles Darwin visited in 1835 and wrote about the unusual wildlife there. His observations helped him form his theory of evolution—that is, the idea that living things developed over millions of years.
Many finches have strong beaks for eating hard-shelled seeds and other foods. But the vampire finch uses its sharp beak to also peck at the feathers, feet, and skin of larger birds. It often preys upon blue-footed boobies, large seabirds that are common on the Galapagos Islands. But the finches will attack most any animal no matter the size. The vampire finch aggressively pecks at its prey and drinks the nutritious blood that flows from the wound. The animals that the vampire finch preys upon are usually not harmed by the rude behavior of this small songbird. In fact, they often do not seem to mind giving up a few drops of blood at all.
The Galapagos Islands have 13 native species of finches—a much higher proportion of finches than on any continent. Scientists understand that the finches developed as different species partially because they ate different foods. They thus evolved specialized beaks and other adaptations for their different eating habits. The vampire finch is closely related to other sharp-beaked ground finches found on Wolf and Darwin islands in the Galapagos group. As other finches evolved beaks to handle many foods, such as seeds, fruits, or insects, the vampire finch evolved its own alternative feeding strategy. Scientists think that the bloodthirsty behavior of the vampire finch evolved from the birds picking small parasites, such as fleas or ticks, from the feathers and feet of larger birds.
