The large ground finch (''Geospiza magnirostris'') 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 lightweig ...

. One of

Darwin's finches 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 ...

, it is now placed in the family

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 ...

and was formerly in the

Emberizidae The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus ''Emberiza'', the only genus in the family Emberizidae. The family contains 45 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills. Taxonomy The family Emberizid ...

. 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 else ...

to the Galapagos Islands, and is found in the arid zone of most of the archipelago, though it is absent from the southeastern islands ( Floreana, Española, San Cristóbal, and Santa Fé). It is the largest species of Darwin's finch both in total size and size of beak. It has a large, short beak for cracking nuts to get food.

Gallery

File:Large ground finch (4229044630).jpg, left, Large ground finch File:Geospiza magnirostris.jpg, left, One of Darwin's finches. Charles and Chatham Islands, Galapagos Archipelago.

References

Geospiza Endemic birds of the Galápagos Islands Birds described in 1837 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Thraupidae-stub