The sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis) is a species of bird in the Darwin's finch group of the tanager family Thraupidae. It is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and it is native to the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador.[1] It has a mass of around 20 grams (0.71 oz) and the males have black plumage, while females have streaked brown plumage.[2] This finch was described by Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1888.[3]
| Sharp-beaked ground finch | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| female on Genovesa Island | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Thraupidae |
| Genus: | Geospiza |
| Species: | G. difficilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Geospiza difficilis Sharpe, 1888 | |
 | |
This relatively small, slender-billed finch is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where it is found on Fernandina, Santiago, Pinta, Genovesa, Darwin, and Wolf Islands.[2] On the first three islands, it breeds in the humid highlands and disperses afterwards, but on the remaining smaller and lower islands the sharp-beaked ground finch is found in the arid zone year-round. Due to habitat destruction its range has decreased. It was formerly also present in the highlands of several other islands, and it is possible it still occurs on Isabela.[2]
Both the vampire ground finch and the Genovesa ground finch were considered subspecies. The International Ornithologists' Union have split them, while other taxonomic authorities still consider them conspecific.