List of endemic birds of the Galápagos Islands

Map of the Galápagos Islands, showing the archipelago's topography

Endemism and threats

The islands are home to several endemic genera.

Endemic Bird Area

Birdlife International defines Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs) as places where the breeding ranges of two or more range-restricted species—those with breeding ranges of less than 50,000 km² (19,000 sq mi)—overlap. In order to qualify, the whole of the breeding range of at least two range-restricted species must fall entirely within the EBA. ^[1] The entire Galápagos Islands archipelago is considered to be an Endemic Bird Area. ^[2] Ten Important Bird Areas, which are areas which meet a specific set of internationally agreed criteria, fall within the EBA's boundaries. ^[2]

List of endemic species

IUCN Red List categories

Conservation status
EX	Extinct (0 species)
EW	Extinct in the wild (0 species)
CR	Critically endangered (2 species)
EN	Endangered (2 species)
VU	Vulnerable (9 species)
NT	Near threatened (2 species)
LC	Least concern (11 species)

Taxon. order [nb 1]	Common name	Picture	Scientific name	Distribution and habitat	IUCN status [nb 2]	Notes
1	Galápagos dove		Zenaida galapagoensis		NT IUCN
2	Galápagos crake		Laterallus spilonota	Highlands of the main islands (except Floreana) [5]	VU IUCN	Also known as Galápagos rail [6]
3	Lava gull		Leucophaeus fuliginosus		VU IUCN
4	Galápagos penguin		Spheniscus mendiculus		EN IUCN
5	Flightless cormorant		Phalacrocorax harrisi	Coastal areas on Fernandina and northern and western Isabela [7]	VU IUCN
6	Lava heron		Butorides sundevalli	Rocky shores and marine lagoons on islands throughout [8]	LC IUCN	Considered by some authorities (including BirdLife International and the American Ornithological Society) to be a subspecies of the striated heron [9] [10]
7	Galápagos hawk		Buteo galapagoensis	All habitats throughout the islands, except on Genovesa, San Cristóbal, and Floreana [11]	VU IUCN
8	Large-billed flycatcher		Myiarchus magnirostris		LC IUCN
9	Galapagos mockingbird		Mimus parvulus		LC IUCN
10	Floreana mockingbird		Mimus trifasciatus		EN IUCN	Also known as Charles Island mockingbird
11	Hood mockingbird		Mimus macdonaldi		VU IUCN	Also known as Española mockingbird
12	San Cristóbal mockingbird		Mimus melanotis		NT IUCN	Also known as Chatham mockingbird
13	Large ground finch		Geospiza magnirostris		LC IUCN
14	Medium ground finch		Geospiza fortis		LC IUCN
15	Small ground finch		Geospiza fuliginosa		LC IUCN
16	Sharp-beaked ground finch		Geospiza difficilis		LC IUCN
17	Common cactus finch		Geospiza scandens		LC IUCN
18	Española cactus finch		Geospiza conirostris		VU IUCN
19	Vegetarian finch		Geospiza crassirostris		LC IUCN
20	Large tree finch		Camarhynchus psittacula		VU IUCN
21	Medium tree finch		Camarhynchus pauper		CR IUCN
22	Small tree finch		Camarhynchus parvulus		LC IUCN
23	Woodpecker finch		Camarhynchus pallidus		VU IUCN
24	Mangrove finch		Camarhynchus heliobates		CR IUCN
25	Green warbler-finch		Certhidea olivacea		VU IUCN	Sometimes considered conspecific with the grey warbler-finch [12]
26	Grey warbler-finch		Certhidea fusca		LC IUCN

Notes

1. This list uses the taxonomy proposed by the International Ornithologists' Union. ^[3] Avian checklists and field guides typically list species in taxonomic order to show the evolutionary relationships between species; those which are more closely related are physically listed nearer each other. ^[4]
2. This column sorts by threat level, as outlined in the key above.

Citations

1. BirdLife International 2004.
2. BirdLife International 2021a.
3. Gill, Donsker & Rasmussen 2021.
4. Cornell Lab of Ornithology 2015.
5. Fitter, Fitter & Hosking 2000, p. 64.
6. BirdLife International 2021b.
7. Fitter, Fitter & Hosking 2000, p. 36.
8. Fitter, Fitter & Hosking 2000, p. 48.
9. Santander, Freile & Loor-Vela 2009, p. 190.
10. Lepage.
11. Fitter, Fitter & Hosking 2000, p. 60.
12. BirdLife International 2017.

References

• BirdLife International (2004). "Most Endemic Bird Areas are in the tropics and important for other biodiversity too". birdlife.org. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
• BirdLife International (2017). "Green Warbler-finch: Certhidea olivacea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
• BirdLife International (2021a). "Galápagos Islands". birdlife.org. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
• BirdLife International (2021b). "Species factsheet: Galapagos Rail – Laterallus spilonota" . Retrieved 16 April 2021.
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology (16 November 2015). "What is taxonomic order and why is it used for the sequence of birds in my field guide?". All About Birds. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
• Lepage, Denis (ed.). "Galapagos Heron: Butorides sundevalli". Avibase — The World Bird Database. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
• Fitter, Julian; Fitter, Daniel & Hosking, David (2000). Wildlife of the Galápagos. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Pocket Guides. ISBN   978-0-691-10295-5.
• Gill, Frank; Donsker, David & Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2021). "IOC World Bird List". IOC. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
• Santander, Tatiana; Freile, Juan F. & Loor-Vela, Sandra (2009). "Ecuador". In Devenish, C.; Díaz-Fernández, D. F.; Clay, R. P.; Davidson, I. & Yépez Zabala, I. (eds.). Important Bird Areas Americas - Priority sites for biodiversity conservation. Quito: BirdLife International. ISBN   978-9942-9959-0-2.