| coping with uncertainty: woodpecker finches (cactospiza pallida) from an unpredictable habitat are more flexible than birds from a stable habitat. | behavioural flexibility is thought to be a major factor in evolution. it may facilitate the discovery and exploitation of new resources, which in turn may expose populations to novel selective forces and facilitate adaptive radiation. darwin's finches are a textbook example of adaptive radiation. they are fast learners and show a range of unusual foraging techniques, probably as a result of their flexibility. in this study we aimed to test whether variability of the environment is correlated wit ... | 2014 | 24638107 |
| four new species of isospora from the small tree finch (camarhynchus parvulus) from the galapagos islands. | four isosporan species are described from the small tree finch, camarhynchus parvulus from isabela island on the galapagos archipelago. isospora exigua n. sp. oocysts subspheroidal, one-layered, smooth, yellow-brown color, 20.4 x 20.1 (20-23 x 18-23) microns, with no micropyle, residuum, or polar body. sporocysts ovoidal, 14 x 9.5 (13-15 x 8-10) microns, with small stieda and substieda bodies and irregular-shaped residuum. isospora rotunda n. sp. oocysts subspheroidal, single-layered, smooth, ye ... | 1988 | 3367322 |
| do woodpecker finches acquire tool-use by social learning? | tool-use is widespread among animals, but except in primates the development of this behaviour is poorly known. here, we report on the first experimental study to our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the acquisition of tool-use in a bird species. the woodpecker finch cactospiza pallida, endemic to the galápagos islands, is a famous textbook example of tool-use in animals. this species uses modified twigs or cactus spines to pry arthropods out of tree holes. using nestlings and adult birds ... | 2001 | 11674865 |
| physical cognition and tool-use: performance of darwin's finches in the two-trap tube task. | the trap tube is a classic test of causal reasoning abilities in animals in the physical domain. recently, a modified version of this task improved its diagnostic capacity and allowed testing of non-tool-using animals. we used this modified two-trap tube task to compare the cognition of two darwin's finch species: the woodpecker finch, cactospiza pallida, a tool-using species, and the small tree finch, camarhynchus parvulus, a closely related non-tool-using species. not all woodpecker finches us ... | 2011 | 21360118 |
| use of a barbed tool by an adult and a juvenile woodpecker finch (cactospiza pallida). | here we describe the modification and use of a new tool type in the woodpecker finch (cactospiza pallida). this species is known to habitually use twigs or cactus spines to extract arthropods out of tree holes. we observed an adult and a juvenile bird using several barbed twigs from introduced blackberry bushes (rubus niveus) which the adult bird had first modified by removing leaves and side twigs. the barbs of blackberry tools provide a novel functional feature not present in tools made from n ... | 2012 | 22085790 |