The Beak of the Finch

Dan, Michael, Ryan & Jack

Peter Rosemary

Chapter 1 Summary
Chapter one is an intro to Peter and Rosemary
Grant’s study of finches on Daphne Major in the
Galapagos Islands. Starting out as a brief narrative
of catching finches the chapter moves on to state
that the Grant’s study “is the best and most detailed
demonstration to date of the power of Darwin’s
process.” Chapter one informs the reader that
although Darwin never observed his process
directly it is now possible to do so through studies
such as the Grants.
Daphne Major is an ideal place to
study evolution. Its isolation
and simplicity are as close to
laboratory conditions as one
may find in nature. Hard to
access Daphne is an
inhospitable place with little if
any human disturbances. The
Grant’s camp near the rim of
the volcano, the only suitable
level camp site on the island
and must haul all of their gear
up from the sea on their backs. Daphne Major
After capturing birds
measurements are taken and a
blood sample is collected. The
amount of time the Grants
have spent on Daphne has
allowed them to collect an
enormous quantity of data;
data that allows them to see
natural selection in the wild in
a human life span.
The beginning and end of the chapter shed light on the
manor in which the Grant’s and their assistant keep
track of the inches on the island color coded leg bands
help them keep track of the 400 finches on the island.
By standing on Darwin’s shoulders and using modern
computer power the Grant’s were able to watch the
power of natural selection in action.

Bird Leg Bands

 Discussion Questions
• What makes the conditions on Daphne
Major so perfect for studying evolution in
action?
• How many other species of birds live on
the Galapagos? Is a lack of other species
part of what allowed finches to adapt to
multiple niches?
• Why is it necessary to conduct this type of
research in the field?
 Chapter 2 Summary
What Darwin Saw

Charles Lyell Erasmus Darwin

Chapter two outlines the ideas and influences that brought Darwin from a Creationist
to a proponent of his own theory of evolution. Darwin used what he learned from
fellow naturalists like Charles Lyell, Robert E. Grant, his own grandfather,
Erasmus Darwin, and of course the variety of finches he collected on the
Galapagos Islands to form his theory of evolution by natural selection. Overall,
what he and a handful of others during the period saw, was that small scale
changes over long periods of time can create big effects.
At 22, Darwin
joined the voyage
of the beagle and
after visiting the
Galapagos
Archipelago and
other locations
around the world,
he returned to
England with many
natural specimens
including 31 finches
from the Galapagos
islands.
Darwin did not fully understand
the significance of the finches
until after donating all of his
specimens to the Zoological
Society of London where John
Gold pronounced them as being
14 new species unique to the
Galapagos islands. Darwin was
surprised to learn that the
strangely diverse group of birds
he collected were all finches.
Despite mixing samples of
finches from two of the islands,
Darwin began to realize that the
Galapagos birds displayed
variation from island to island.
Darwin, like Carolus
Linnaeus before him,
realized that local
conditions can lead to
local varieties of
species. However,
unlike Linnaeus,
Darwin began to
theorize that possibly
an ancestral finch
species could have
populated the islands
and diverged,
generation by
generation, creating
different varieties that
could continue
diverging into different
species marooned on
their own islands,
ultimately breaking
the species barrier.
Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology taught
Darwin that the earth’s crust has been changing
over time and hinted at the concept that small
effects, like erosion, can accumulate to large
scale changes over geological time. Similarly,
Darwin’s fossils from South America gave
evidence for extinct relatives of living organisms.
From these findings
Darwin postulated
that species
gradually become
modified over time.
For Darwin, these
modifications in form
might explain the
gradiations in beak
size, from very thick
to very thin, seen in
the finches he had
collected. He
predicted that these
modified beaks were
developed for
different purposes on
different islands.
 Knowing that breeders
have shaped and
molded plants and
animals for centuries,
Darwin began studying
breeders and took up
pigeon breeding
himself. Darwin learned
Ancestral Canine that breeders use the
power of selection,
choosing the best
organism from
generation to
generation, thereby
modifying and
changing the species
being examined.

Bulldog
Darwin’s personal collection of pigeons included a range of different
varieties. When showing Lyell his collection of pigeons, Darwin explained
that although they all look different they belong to the same species. The
different breeds of pigeons that Darwin and Lyell pondered over were
created by the simple act of selection by breeders over just a few
generations leading Darwin to wonder “what nature could do over millions
of years.”
 Discussion Questions
• Why do finches play a key role in the Grant research
party and Darwin’s evolutionary theory when compared
to other organisms?
• What have the grants done differently to support
Darwin’s evolutionary theory?
• Why were mockingbirds initially found to have diverging
characteristics rather than the finches?
• How did Principles of Geology sculpt evolutionary
thought for Darwin?
• What are some reasons for Darwin’s assuredness in
relating dog/pigeon breeding to selection in nature?
• During Darwin’s time, why would it be difficult to
scientifically prove natural selection?