Galapagos Islands birdlife - land birds
Few species of land birds inhabit the Galapagos Islands, and 
three-quarters of these are endemic, or occurring only in the archipelago. Unlike the seabirds, most of which are excellent long-distance fliers, land birds from the tropics have little cause to make long flights. Though relatives of all the Galápagos species may be found on the nearby mainland, only a freak of fate would bring them out a thousand kilometers from land. This must have happened, however, at least fourteen times in the past.
With few exceptions, the land birds are a singularly dull-colored lot. As if to make up for this lack of exciting color, their "tameness" is unsurpassed. With attitudes to man that seem to range from indifference, through curiosity and fearlessness, to outright impudence, the Galapagos land birds are a pleasure to watch and study.
Because Galapagos visitors spend so much time on and around the water, the sea and shore birds typically
receive more attention than the land birds. The sea birds tend to be bigger, more obvious, can be observed more easily, and display lots of different types of behaviors. Land birds, on the other hand, are smaller, drabber, and more secretive. It takes more effort, more patience, and more understanding to observe them. Some birds, like the cuckoo and the rail have small populations and tend to be cryptic in their habits. There are 29 recognized species of land birds living in the Galapagos Islands and Darwin came close to seeing them all. Of course he didn't visit all of the islands and didn't see everything. Darwin succinctly cataloged the resident land birds in the "Voyage of the Beagle":
"Of land-birds I obtained twenty-six kinds, all peculiar to the group and found nowhere else, with the exception of one lark-like finch from North America (Dolichonyx oryzivorous*), which ranges on that continent as far north as 54 degrees,and generally frequents marshes. The other twenty-five birds consist, firstly, of a hawk, curiously intermediate in structure between a Buzzard and the American group of carrion-feeding Polybori; and with these latter birds it agrees most closely in every habit and even tone of voice. Secondly, there are two owls, representing the short-eared and barn owls of Europe. Thirdly, a wren, three tyrant-flycatchers (two of them species of Pyrocephalus, one or both of which would be ranked by some ornithologists as only varieties), and a dove -- all analogous to but distinct from, american species. fourthly, a swallow, which though differing from the Progene purpurea of both Americas, only in being rather duller coloured, smaller, and slenderer, is considered by Mr. gould as specifically disinct. Fifthly, there are three species of mocking-thrush -- a form highly characteristic of America. The remaining land-birds form a most singular group of finches, related to each other in the structure of their beaks, short tails, form of body, and plumage. There are thirteen species, which Mr. Gould has divided into four sub-groups. All these species are peculiar to this archipelago...."
Charles Darwin, 1845
Resident Species
Dark-billed Cuckoo
Barn Owl
Short-eared Owl*
Vermillion Flycatcher*
Yellow Warbler*
Paint-billed Crake
Smooth-billed Ani
* Endemic sub-species
Endemic Species
Galapagos Dove
Large-billed Flycatcher
Galapagos Hawk
Mockingbirds:
Galapagos Mockingbird
Hood Mockingbird
Chatham Mockingbird
Charles Mockingbird
Galapagos Rail
Galapogos Martin
Darwin's Finches:
Small Ground Finch
Medium Ground Finch
Large Ground Finch
Cactus Ground Finch
Large Cactus Ground Finch
Sharp-beaked Ground Finch
Vegetarian Finch
Small Tree Finch
Medium Tree Finch
Large Tree Finch
Woodpecker Finch
Mangrove Finch
Warbler Finch
Vegetarian
Finch and Ground Finch all have crushing bills while Tree Finch have a
grasping bill and Cactus Finch, Warbler Finch and Woodpecker Finch have
probing bills.
Vegetarian
and Tree Finches the males never become completely black rather they
have a black head, neck and upper breast. Warbler, Woodpecker and
Mangrove Finches have more of an olive color.
On
Isla Wolf the Sharp Beaked Ground Finch is known as the "Vampire Finch"
as it jumps on the backs of Masked Boobies and Red-Footed Boobies
pecking at their flesh and feeding on their blood. Woodpecker and
Mangrove Finch use small twigs and cactus spines as tools to dine on
the larva stored in dead tree branches.
of the central and western islands is highly endangered, unfortunately
since some ornithologists believe it may be the closest to the
ancestral form of all Darwin's finches. On Wolf Island (or Culpepper,
in the northwest corner of the archipelago) this finch is called the
"vampire finch," for its habit of pecking at the skin of boobies until
they draw blood, which they drink. Such a behavior may have evolved
from eating the parasitic insects that are found in bird plumage (as
ground finches do in other islands). 
(G.
crassirostris), though more closely related to tree finches, lives
mainly in the humid highlands of the larger islands. It is lighter in
color, more like the tree finches, though the male sports a jet-black
head and neck in contrast to its creamy breast. Although its diet is
primarily fruits and soft seeds, it will sneak in a few insects now and
then.
Tree
finches, as their name implies, are largely arboreal and feed primarily
on insects. They are paler than ground or cactus finches, with gray
heads and wings and white or streaked breasts. Their bill shape is
sharper than ground finches, and more useful for grasping -- better
suited to their insect diet. 
(Geospiza pallida), one
of the very few birds in the world to use "tools", in this case a twig
or cactus spine, to aid in feeding. The small yellowish finch will seek
out and select this implement to pry insects or their larvae out of
small holes in cactuses, or from beneath bark. They have even been seen
to carry the tool from tree to tree, as if it has proven its value as a
favorite. The woodpecker finch nests in the highlands of the major
central islands including San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, Santiago, Pinzón,
Isabela and Fernandina. 
(G. olivacea) is
the smallest of Darwin's finches, and in the size and shape of its
bill, coloration and song it earns its name. Even Darwin was certain it
was a warbler, but John Gould -- who catalogued Darwin's collection
upon the latter's return from the voyage of the Beagle -- identified it
by anatomy correctly as a finch. Despite its unique role in the catalog
of Darwin's finches, it is the most wide-spread species, nesting in the
highlands of the large islands but being found through all quarters of
the archipelago. 
they
will happily approach tourists on the beach to see whether there is any
food or water. You should not feed the birds as this would make them
become dependent on such service. There are four different species of
mockingbird on the islands – three of these are specific to individual
islands and one species may be found all over the islands. 
representative
species or races of the Amblyrhynchus, as well as the tortoise. My
attention was first thoroughly aroused by comparing together the
numerous specimens, shot by myself and several other parties on board,
of the mocking-thrushes, when, to my astonishment, I discovered that
all those from Charles Island belonged to one species (Mimus
trifasciatus); all from Albemarle Island to M. parvulus; and all from
James and Chatham Islands...belonged to M. melanotis."
(M. parvulus)
is probably the root species, originating in the easternmost isle of
San Cristóbal and dispersing to the west. This aggressive bird is found
on all major islands except those where competitive mockingbirds have
evolved. They are omnivorous, and their habit of running after small
lava lizards and insets has begged comparison with road-runners. 
(M.
macdonaldi), also known as Hood mockingbird, found only on Española and
nearby islands. The Hood mockingbird is extremely aggressive. It is not
uncommon for them to land on a visitor's head and they will explore any
unknown object, always looking for food or drink. Many tourists to
Española (or Hood Island) are struck by the forwardness and seeming
intelligence of these birds. 
its
main habitation. The former has the longest bill of the four, and is
notably tamer and more curious than other species. The somewhat duller
Floreana has the interesting habit of nesting in prickly pear, the only
mockingbird to do so. Sadly, this bird is now extinct on Floreana
island itself, probably due to the usual suspects. Cats, rats, dogs and
goats, along with pigs and other barnyard animals, pirated their eggs
and devoured their habitat. It is still seen on nearby Champion Island,
where the heavy foot of civilization has yet to tread. 
archipelago,
the endemic Galápagos hawk (Buteo galapageoensis) is now endangered on
all the populated islands. It is a dark and handsome bird, similar to
the Swainson's hawk of North America, with lightly barred tail
feathers. It feeds on land lizards and small iguanas, native and
introduced rats, and smaller birds such as doves and mockingbirds. Its
eyesight is excellent, as is typical with buteos. 
(Tyto punctissima)
lives on Santa Cruz, Isabela, San Cristóbal and Fernandina, though
Steadman points out it is now extinct on Floreana because of introduced
mammals such as cats. It has the distinctive heart-shaped face of the
common barn owl, though is smaller and darker. Like its cousin, it is
almost entirely nocturnal, and rarely seen. Its diet consists primarily
of small rodents, lizards, birds and bats, and its habitat is in lava
tubes, holes in trees and abandoned buildings.
in the Galápagos was in 1888 on San Cristóbal and Floreana, and today
it is found on most other large islands as well. Native to tropical
lowlands from Argentina to Colombia, it may owe its arrival and success
in the Galapagos Islands to the same environmental factors that
threaten other species. The warm waters of El Niño years encourage its
dispersal, and it has colonized other islands off the continent as
well. As befits a recent arrival, the cuckoo is shy and secretive,
instinctively wary of human contact. 
