Redditors Find Out About Vampire Finches, Little Birds From Galapagos Island That Survive By Drinking Blood Of Other Birds

Nazca Boobies, their main source of food, don't seem to mind...

Damjan

• Published in Animal Stories
• December 13, 2022

This world is a wonderful place full of beauty, diversity, and endless possibilities. Every day, we learn something new about nature and its many wonders.

The more we explore and study, the more we realize how truly amazing our planet is. From the vastness of the oceans to the depth of the canyons, nature never fails to amaze us.

We can learn about the intricate details of the species that inhabit the Earth, marvel at the power of the storms that rage across the skies and appreciate the beauty of the changing seasons. Every day brings something new to explore and discover.

One interesting story was shared on Reddit. It is about a bird that drinks the blood of other birds to survive the harsh environment on one of the Galapagos islands.

The Galapagos Islands are well known as an evolution testing ground. Famously, a prehistoric tanager species spread and adapted to the various climatic conditions present on the various islands after migrating from South America some 1.5 million years ago.

Currently, the Galapagos archipelago is home to 18 species of "Darwin's Finches" (which are not technically true finches), with a 19th species discovered on Cocos Island off the coast of Costa Rica.

These birds are little, common, and amiable on Santa Cruz and San Cristobal islands, where the majority of visitors begin their Galapagos expedition.

However, these are large, wooded islands with steady water supplies. The northernmost island in the archipelago, Wolf Island, is a particularly distinct location.

Wolf, which was formed by a different volcanic system, is located 140 km north of the major islands. It isn't very big—less than 3 square kilometers.

Visitors are not allowed on the island, and only park employees and scientists occasionally go there. These adorable tiny birds on this far-off volcano have transformed.

Finches have changed over time. They are vampire finches. About 250,000 years ago, their ancestor—possibly the modern giant ground finch—arrived on Wolf.

The island experiences significant dryness for most of the year due to a lack of natural water sources. Blood is the greatest, most trustworthy supply of fluid.

The island is home to a large population of Nazca boobies, who welcomed us with their perpetually bemused expression upon arrival. When they periodically rest on their folded wings, the finches fly among them, using their pointed beaks to locate and pluck off the growing feathers.

Read more about these interesting birds below:

One Redditor shared:

Vampire finch on a Nazca booby at Wolf Island, Galapagos

Finch on San Cristobal in the Galapagos

Vampire finch on Wolf Island, Galapagos

Main source of food: Nazca boobies

This blood-drinking behavior is thought to have evolved from the finches pecking out parasites.

To put it mildly, it appears horrific.

The boobies don't seem to be overly troubled

They barely seemed to notice the finches.

Watch the video here:

The boobies' white feathers are stained by the blood that freely oozes from the incision. Finches were occasionally slurping it up in succession.

It is believed that finches' parasite-eating activity led to the development of this blood-drinking behavior. To put it mildly, it appears ghastly, yet the boobies didn't seem very alarmed.

The birds appeared to be scarcely noticed by them.

Damjan