Camarhynchus – Darwin’s finches

These small, unassuming songbirds may not look extraordinary at first glance, but they played a groundbreaking role in shaping Charles Darwin’s ideas about evolution and natural selection. Belonging to the tanager family (not true finches), Camarhynchus species are native exclusively to the Galápagos and are specialized forest birds. Their defining feature is their stout, woodpecker-like bills, which they use surprisingly creatively to access food.

The most famous member of this group is the woodpecker finch (Camarhynchus pallidus), sometimes called the “tool-using finch.” Unlike most birds, it uses cactus spines or small twigs as tools to pry insects and larvae from tree bark. This remarkable behavior is one of the few documented cases of tool use in birds outside of crows and parrots, placing the woodpecker finch among the most intelligent of small songbirds. Other species in the genus have specialized beak sizes and shapes that allow them to focus on different food sources, reducing competition among them.

Scientists studying them have noted that individuals may pass on tool-using techniques, suggesting a form of cultural learning in these small birds. The beaks of Camarhynchus species are also excellent examples of adaptive radiation, showing how a single ancestral species diversified into multiple forms, each with its own niche. Though they look like ordinary brown or gray songbirds, they are among the most famous examples of evolution in action.