Geospiza conirostris Skull or Large Cactus Finch is museum quality polyurethane cast. Large Cactus Finch Skull is made in USA.
The Geospiza conirostris or Large Cactus-Finch is one of the Darwin’s Finches, endemic to the Galapagos Islands. This dark bird is mainly terrestrial, and lives in dry shrubland. As its name suggests, this species gets its food from cactus.
The Geospiza conirostris or Large Cactus-Finch is the largest of the Darwin’s Finches.
The adult of nominate race has black plumage overall, with brown wash on wings and tail. Undertail coverts are white with black feather centres. The tail is relatively short.
The long, robust bill is black in breeding season, but it becomes brown with orange tinge at base and yellow tinge at tip during the transition. And finally, it is orange-yellow in non-breeding period. The eyes are very dark. Legs and feet are blackish.
The female Geospiza conirostris or Large Cactus-Finch has dark brownish-grey streaked plumage. They have more pale feather edges on head, back and large part of breast.
This streaking is usually narrow and indistinct. She has pale buffy-grey supercilium and lower eye-crescent, usually restricted to a pale spot above and behind the eye on darker birds.
The upperwing is brown with paler buffy-brown wingbars and tertial edges.
The underparts are whitish with dark brown streaking, denser on throat and breast. Belly and vent are paler. Undertail coverts show broad whitish fringes.
The bill is dusky with some dull orange tinge on the lower mandible, or can be entirely orange according to the season.
The Large Cactus-Finch frequents the arid lowlands with dry scrub, and the areas with cacti of genus Opuntia helleri. This bird is often seen on the ground.
The Geospiza conirostris or Large Cactus Finch calls include high-pitched “tzeeeeee”. The song is a double nasal note “ch’whuuu ch’whuuu” or “tcheu tcheuuu”. This species has relatively high trill rate.
The Geospiza conirostris or Large Cactus Finch are monogamous. The female chooses her mate through song, plumage type and physical features which play a critical role during male & female interactions. The male is territorial and usually stays close to its mate during the egg-laying period.