GALAPAGOS HAWK

In contrast to the Darwin finches which arrived on the Galapagos Islands some two to three million years ago and diversified into a variety of species filling m...
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In contrast to the Darwin finches which arrived on the Galapagos Islands some two to three million years ago and diversified into a variety of species filling many of the islands niches, it was not until about 300,000 years ago hawks first appeared on the islands. Probably derived from an ancestral Swainson’s hawk, they are today their own unique species preying on a wide range of animals ranging from mostly insects to the young of many animals up to about the weight of the bird itself. For a variety of mostly human caused reasons their numbers have declined substantially from when Darwin first arrived. About 150 pairs currently exist.
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