Current view: Data table and detailed info
Taxonomic note
Geospiza pallida (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) was previously placed in the genus Camarhynchus and listed as C. pallidus following SACC (2005 & updates); Sibley & Monroe (1990, 1993); Stotz et al. (1996).
Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.
IUCN Red List criteria met and history
Red List criteria met
Red List history
| Migratory status |
not a migrant |
Forest dependency |
low |
| Land-mass type |
|
Average mass |
- |
Population justification: The species is locally common and widespread (Jaramillo et al. 2020). In recent surveys, the population was estimated at 2,693 pairs (1,583-5,091) on Santiago, at 31,500 pairs (26,783-64,432) on Isabela, at 28,914 pairs (18,350-46,807) on Santa Cruz and at 10,121 pairs (8,237-16,781) on San Cristóbal (Galápagos Landbird Project unpubl. data per M. Dvorak and B. Fessl in litt. 2021). The population on Fernandina is likely below 1,000 pairs (Galápagos Landbird Project unpubl. data per M. Dvorak and B. Fessl in litt. 2021). The total population is therefore estimated at roughly 75,000 pairs, equating to 150,000 mature individuals, with a minimum of roughly 55,000 pairs (110,000 mature individuals) and a maximum of roughly 135,000 pairs (270,000 mature individuals).
The species is thought to form three subspecies (Jaramillo et al. 2020): Subspecies striatipecta occurs in San Cristóbal (10,121 pairs, equating to 20,242 mature individuals), subspecies producta in Fernandina and Isabela (32,500 pairs or 65,000 mature individuals) and subspecies pallida on Santiago, Santa Cruz and potentially Santa Fé and Pinzón (31,607 pairs or 63,214 mature individuals).
Trend justification: A study using quantitative census data to describe the distribution and abundance of the land birds of Santa Cruz revealed that the species had declined significantly between 1997 and 2010, with declines of >65% in the dry zone, >20% in humid Scalesia forest and >50% in the agricultural zone of the island (Dvorak et al. 2012). No census data currently exists for the islands of Isabela and Santiago but given the level of habitat destruction and degradation by introduced herbivores on those islands (Henderson and Dawson 2009), similar declines are suspected. On San Cristóbal however, the species was found to be in a better state with no declines noted (Dvorak et al. 2019).
The species reaches highest densities in humid zones (Dvorak et al. 2019), where declines of >20% were observed over 14 years (Dvorak et al. 2012), which equates to a rate of decline of >15% over ten years. Accounting for faster declines of populations in the less frequented dry zones, the overall rate of decline is precautionarily inferred at 20-29% over ten years.
Country/territory distribution
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Woodpecker Finch Geospiza pallida. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/woodpecker-finch-geospiza-pallida on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.
