Small Tree Finch Facts

The small tree finch, or Camarhynchus parvulus, is, as its common name suggests, a small finch that likes to live in trees. It lives on the Galapagos Islands. When Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands in 1835, he studied all of the finch species found on the islands, including the small tree finch. For this reason, sometimes the small tree finch is referred to as a Darwinian finch.

  1. Identification

    • Small tree finches only grow to 10 cm to 20 cm or 3.9 inches to 7.9 inches long. They only weigh a mere 13 g or a half an ounce. They are dumpy in shape with a short tail and short, blunt beak. Colors range from an almost all-black to black forequarters and white or off-white hindquarters and tail for the males, and shades of pale grey or pale brown for the females. The male has a black beak while the female has a pale orange beak.

    Misconception

    • Although called a small tree finch since Darwin’s day, it has since been discovered that all of the Darwinian finches, including the small tree finch, are not in the true finch family. They are actually very small members of the tanager family, which closely resemble the true finch family. But the common name has stuck.

    Geography

    • The small tree finch can be found on most of the major Galapagos islands, except for the islands of Darwin, Espanola and Marchena. They used to be found on the island of Rabida, but no longer. They live in a range of about 7,500 square km. They prefer to live in humid evergreen forests, shrubs and even various cactus species. They are often found in elevations of 300 to 700 m or 984 to 2,300 feet.

    Numbers

    • The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, has the small tree finch listed as a species of least concern or not in any imminent danger of becoming extinct. Still, it is unknown how many are left, although the IUCN estimates that there are more than 10,000 breeding adults.

    Diet

    • The small tree finch has a varied diet, including fruits, flower nectar and seeds. But their main fare is insects. They often take insects from branches, just under tree bark or leaves. The finch's bill is thick, powerful and slightly curved in order to pluck out and grab the wriggly prey. The bill is also strong enough to poke through tree bark where insects may hide or larvae may grow.