SOME OF DARWIN’S FINCH’S
ORIGIN OF NAME BY DISTINCTIVE TRAITS
ESL: TEACH THE TEACHER
Geospiza conirostris GEO = Earth
Spiza= Española
Con = With
Rostris (Rostra) = Face
Geospiza fortis
Geo = Earth
Spiza = Española
Fortis (Fortisimo)
Geospiza magnirostris
Geo = Earth
Spizo = Española
Magna = Large
Rostris (Rostra) = Face
Geospiza difficilis
Geospizo = Española
Difficil = Difficult
Darwin classified this finch based on the bird’s origins
from the Galapagos Islands, located off the West
Coast of Ecuador. It is unknown why he used the
word rostra meaning face. Possibly because he used
this bird as the original, for all others to be compared
to.
Darwin classified this finch based on origin and
for the birds very strong (fortisimo) beak and
vocal range.
Darwin and Gould classified this finch based on
the same geography as the others but noted that
this finch had the largest face of the 15 finches of
the islands.
Can you guess why Darwin with the help from
his Orinthologist friend, John Gould, named this
bird?
It is unknown. However, ornithologists have
described this bird as “aggressive with a painful
beak” (Audubon Society 2002).