Camarhynchus parvulus

The finches that Darwin found on the Galapagos Islands played an important role in the development of the theory of evolution. There are at least 13 different species of finches in the Galapagos, and identifying them is not always easy -- I am calling this a small tree finch, mostly because of its general appearance and of the location where I saw it -- near Los Gemelos pit craters on Santa Cruz. The finches there had these yellow beaks, and usually tree finches are described with darker beaks, but perhaps this individual is a younger bird. It was raining when we visited there, but that did not stop the birds from exploring.