The mangrove finch (''Camarhynchus heliobates'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

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 their remarkable diversity in beak form and function. They are often classified as the subfamily Geospizinae or t ...

group of the

tanager The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird 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% of the Neotropica ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Thraupidae The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird 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% of the Neotropica ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

to the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

. It was found on the islands of Fernandina and Isabela, but recent surveys have failed to record the species on Fernandina. It has been classified as critically endangered by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

, with an estimated population of 20–40 mature individuals in 2021, located in two large mangroves on Isabela. A study has shown that the two small populations remaining on Isabela Island have begun undergoing

speciation Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within ...

and that one or both populations will eventually become

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

due to a lack of

interbreeding In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents (such as in ...

Habitat

As its name suggests, the mangrove finch lives in the

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

s of the

. The mangrove finch feeds upon the various

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s, and vegetable matter found in the

s. It closely resembles the far commoner

woodpecker finch The woodpecker finch (''Camarhynchus pallidus'') is a monomorphic species of bird in the Darwin's finch group of the tanager family, Thraupidae endemic to the Galapagos Islands. The diet of a woodpecker finch revolves mostly around invertebrates ...

, but is not known to use tools.

Predators

The main predators of the mangrove finch are cats, fire ants, paper wasps, and especially destructive black rats and parasitic flies. The

black rats The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

(''Rattus rattus'') are predators that account for 54% mortality rate of the mangrove finch during egg incubation, while the larvae of the avian vampire fly (''Philornis downsi'') add an additional 14% mortality rate of newly hatched chicks. Due to high predation rates in 2007 and 2008, rat poison was spread throughout different mangrove sites where the finches lived, which decreased rat predation to 30% mortality of the finch eggs. A year before the rat poison was dispersed, predation was observed in 70% of nests and the average success of nesting was 18%. By 2013, the avian vampire fly (introduced to the Galapagos Islands ''circa'' 1960s) had spread and killed about 55% of Darwin's finch nestlings within nests.

Conservation

The mangrove finch is classified as critically endangered on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

, with only 20–40 mature individuals as of 2021. In January 2014, project researchers reported successfully raising 15 mangrove finch chicks in captivity and releasing them back into the wild. Since then, 36 fledglings have been "head-started" and the project is building on this success. The Mangrove Finch Project is a bi-institutional project carried out by the

Charles Darwin Foundation The Charles Darwin Foundation (Spanish: ''Fundación Charles Darwin'') was founded in 1959, under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Conservation Union. The Charles Darwin Research Station serves as headquarters for The Foundation, and is used ...

and Galapagos National Park in collaboration with

San Diego Zoo Global San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in San Diego that operates the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Founded in 1916 as the Zoological Society of San Diego under the leadership of Harry M. ...

and

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is a conservation organization with a mission to save species from extinction. Gerald Durrell founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust as a charitable institution in 1963 with the dodo as its symbol. The ...

. The project is supported by the Galapagos Conservation Trust, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund,

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is a foundation established in 1999 and administered by four trustees selected by Leona Helmsley. The Trust supports a wide range of organizations, with a major focus on health and medical resea ...

, Galapagos Conservancy, and the British Embassy in Ecuador.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q390289 Camarhynchus Endemic birds of the Galápagos Islands Critically endangered animals Critically endangered biota of South America Birds described in 1901 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN