Cocos finch

Cocos finch
File:Cocornis agassizi = Pinaroloxias inornata, cocos finch.jpg
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Thraupidae
Genus:	Pinaroloxias Sharpe, 1885
Species:	P. inornata
Binomial name
Pinaroloxias inornata (Gould, 1843)

The Cocos finch or Cocos Island finch (Pinaroloxias inornata) is the only one of Darwin's finches not native to the Galápagos Islands, and the only member of the genus Pinaroloxias. Sometimes classified in the family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is endemic to Cocos Island, which is approximately 360 miles south of Costa Rica.

It is a chunky 12 cm long finch weighing around 12.5 g and with a black decurved pointed bill. The male is entirely black, while the female is a heavily streaked brown, with a paler underside. The young are similar but have yellow bills. The standard clutch is two brown-spotted white eggs, which are hatched in a roughly spherical nest built at the end of a tree branch.

The Cocos finch is the most abundant landbird on Cocos Island. It can be found in every habitat on the island and eats a wide range of plant and insects as food.

This species qualifies as Vulnerable because of its small range.

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet.
• Bird-Stamps.org's page, illustrations of two postage stamps containing images of the Cocos Island finch