Woodpecker finch
Foraging behaviour: Added video of woodpecker finch using a stick tool to forage
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== Foraging behaviour == |
== Foraging behaviour == |
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One of the most distinguishable traits of ''Camarhynchus pallidus'' is its ability to use a twig, stick, or [[cactus]] spine as a [[tool]]. This behaviour earned it the nicknames ''tool-using finch'' and ''carpenter finch''. The finch manipulates the tool to dislodge [[invertebrate]] prey, such as [[Larva|grubs]], from crevices in trees. It has been hypothesized that due to the absence of woodpeckers, woodpecker finches filled a similar niche on the Galapagos Islands. Woodpeckers have strong [[Beak|bills]] for drilling and drumming on trees, as well as long sticky tongues for extracting food.{{Cite journal|last1=Zhou|first1=P.|last2=Kong|first2=X. Q.|last3=Wu|first3=C. W.|last4=Chen|first4=Z.|date=September 2009|title=The novel mechanical property of tongue of a woodpecker|journal=Journal of Bionic Engineering|volume=6|issue=3|pages=214–218|doi=10.1016/s1672-6529(08)60126-2|s2cid=136687299|issn=1672-6529}} On the isolated Galapagos islands, without competition from South American woodpecker species, the woodpecker finch was able to [[Adaptation|adapt]], and [[Evolution|evolve]] its tool-utilizing capability to compensate for its short tongue. The ability to use tools is a highly specialized cognitive ability as it involves the animal creating and recognizing a relationship between two foreign objects found in its environment. |
One of the most distinguishable traits of ''Camarhynchus pallidus'' is its ability to use a twig, stick, or [[cactus]] spine as a [[tool]]. This behaviour earned it the nicknames ''tool-using finch'' and ''carpenter finch''. The finch manipulates the tool to dislodge [[invertebrate]] prey, such as [[Larva|grubs]], from crevices in trees. It has been hypothesized that due to the absence of woodpeckers, woodpecker finches filled a similar niche on the Galapagos Islands. Woodpeckers have strong [[Beak|bills]] for drilling and drumming on trees, as well as long sticky tongues for extracting food.{{Cite journal|last1=Zhou|first1=P.|last2=Kong|first2=X. Q.|last3=Wu|first3=C. W.|last4=Chen|first4=Z.|date=September 2009|title=The novel mechanical property of tongue of a woodpecker|journal=Journal of Bionic Engineering|volume=6|issue=3|pages=214–218|doi=10.1016/s1672-6529(08)60126-2|s2cid=136687299|issn=1672-6529}} On the isolated Galapagos islands, without competition from South American woodpecker species, the woodpecker finch was able to [[Adaptation|adapt]], and [[Evolution|evolve]] its tool-utilizing capability to compensate for its short tongue. The ability to use tools is a highly specialized cognitive ability as it involves the animal creating and recognizing a relationship between two foreign objects found in its environment. |
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[[File:Cactospiza_pallidus_0zz.jpg|alt=|thumb|254x254px|Woodpecker finch on branch]] |
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Woodpecker finches are capable of using a variety of materials to construct the tools they use. They are capable of modifying the tools they find in order to maximize their efficiency. Scientists have observed finches shortening the length of sticks or cactus spines in order to make them more manageable for tool use. The same tool can be used multiple times and on different trees. Woodpecker finches may also try various sticks or spines at one site before finding one that can reach and extract the prey item. There is conflicting evidence of whether or not this behaviour was acquired through [[Observational learning|social learning]], as juveniles have been observed using tools without previous contact with adults.{{cite journal|last1=Tebbich|first1=S|last2=Taborsky|first2=M|last3=Fessl|first3=B|last4=Blomqvist|first4=D|title=Do woodpecker finches acquire tool-use by social learning?|journal=Proc Biol Sci|volume=268|issue=1482|pages=2189–93|doi=10.1098/rspb.2001.1738|pmc=1088865|pmid=11674865|year=2001}} In contrast, juvenile woodpecker finches have also been observed utilizing novel tools made from non-native plant species, such as blackberry bushes. After observing adult woodpecker finches prep barbed twigs and use them to obtain prey from crevices in trees, juvenile finches displayed the same behaviour with the novel tool. These observations contrasted previous studies to show that social learning may occur in wild woodpecker finch populations. |
Woodpecker finches are capable of using a variety of materials to construct the tools they use. They are capable of modifying the tools they find in order to maximize their efficiency. Scientists have observed finches shortening the length of sticks or cactus spines in order to make them more manageable for tool use. The same tool can be used multiple times and on different trees. Woodpecker finches may also try various sticks or spines at one site before finding one that can reach and extract the prey item. There is conflicting evidence of whether or not this behaviour was acquired through [[Observational learning|social learning]], as juveniles have been observed using tools without previous contact with adults.{{cite journal|last1=Tebbich|first1=S|last2=Taborsky|first2=M|last3=Fessl|first3=B|last4=Blomqvist|first4=D|title=Do woodpecker finches acquire tool-use by social learning?|journal=Proc Biol Sci|volume=268|issue=1482|pages=2189–93|doi=10.1098/rspb.2001.1738|pmc=1088865|pmid=11674865|year=2001}} In contrast, juvenile woodpecker finches have also been observed utilizing novel tools made from non-native plant species, such as blackberry bushes. After observing adult woodpecker finches prep barbed twigs and use them to obtain prey from crevices in trees, juvenile finches displayed the same behaviour with the novel tool. These observations contrasted previous studies to show that social learning may occur in wild woodpecker finch populations. |
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[[File:Woodpecker finch uses a tool to extract invertebrates.webm|thumb|Woodpecker finch uses a stick tool to forage, on [[Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos)|Santa Cruz Island]]]] |
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The frequency of tool use by woodpecker finches depends largely on whether they live in a more wet or dry environment.{{Cite journal|last1=Tebbich|first1=Sabine|last2=Teschke|first2=Irmgard|date=2014-03-17|title=Coping with Uncertainty: Woodpecker Finches (Cactospiza pallida) from an Unpredictable Habitat Are More Flexible than Birds from a Stable Habitat|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=9|issue=3|article-number=e91718|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0091718|pmid=24638107|pmc=3956741|issn=1932-6203|bibcode=2014PLoSO...991718T|doi-access=free}} Woodpecker finches that live in more wet environments seldom use tools as prey is much more abundant. In contrast, they employ tool use much more when living in dry areas. During the dry season, woodpecker finches use tools while foraging to acquire up to 50% of their [[prey]]. The use of tools has allowed woodpecker finches to be able to obtain prey that they would otherwise be unable to reach with their short tongues. It is thought that this behaviour came to evolve due to the harshness of the dry and unstable environmental conditions of the Galapagos Islands. |
The frequency of tool use by woodpecker finches depends largely on whether they live in a more wet or dry environment.{{Cite journal|last1=Tebbich|first1=Sabine|last2=Teschke|first2=Irmgard|date=2014-03-17|title=Coping with Uncertainty: Woodpecker Finches (Cactospiza pallida) from an Unpredictable Habitat Are More Flexible than Birds from a Stable Habitat|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=9|issue=3|article-number=e91718|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0091718|pmid=24638107|pmc=3956741|issn=1932-6203|bibcode=2014PLoSO...991718T|doi-access=free}} Woodpecker finches that live in more wet environments seldom use tools as prey is much more abundant. In contrast, they employ tool use much more when living in dry areas. During the dry season, woodpecker finches use tools while foraging to acquire up to 50% of their [[prey]]. The use of tools has allowed woodpecker finches to be able to obtain prey that they would otherwise be unable to reach with their short tongues. It is thought that this behaviour came to evolve due to the harshness of the dry and unstable environmental conditions of the Galapagos Islands. |
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