The Common Cactus Finch or Small Cactus Finch (Geospiza scandens) is a species of bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 in the Darwin's finch group of the tanager

Tanager

The tanagers comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has an American distribution.There were traditionally about 240 species of tanagers, but the taxonomic treatment of this family's members is currently in a state of flux...

 family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Thraupidae. It is endemic to the Galapagos Islands

Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...

, where it is found on most islands, with the notable exception of Fernandina

Fernandina Island

Fernandina Island is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Galápagos Islands. Like the others, the island was formed by the Galápagos hotspot...

, Española

Española Island

Española Island is part of the Galápagos Islands. The English named it Hood Island after Viscount Samuel Hood. It is located in the extreme southeast of the archipelago and is considered, along with Santa Fe, one of the oldest, at approximately four million years...

, Genovesa

Genovesa Island

Genovesa Island is a shield volcano in the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The island occupies about , and its maximum elevation is . The horse-shoe shaped island has a volcanic caldera whose wall has collapsed, forming the Great Darwin Bay, surrounded by cliffs...

, Darwin

Darwin Island

Darwin Island is named in honor of Charles Darwin, and is among the smallest in the Galapagos Archipelago with an area of just one square kilometer. With no dry landing sites, Darwin Island's main attractions are found in the Pacific Ocean, which is teeming with a spectacular variety of marine life...

 and Wolf

Wolf Island

Wolf Island or Wenman Island is a small island in the Galapagos Islands and was named after the German geologist Theodor Wolf, who also has the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island named after him...

. Most of these islands are inhabited by its close relative, the Large Cactus Finch.

Its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

s are dry scrubland and woodland. It is usually closely associated with the cactus Opuntia

Opuntia

Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...

.

Taxonomy

The Common Cactus Finch is one of six species in the genus Geospiza, part of a group of closely related species known as Darwin's finches. There are four recognized subspecies:

• G. s. abingdoni is found on Pinta.
• G. s. intermedia is found on Santa Fé, Floreana, Santa Cruz, Isabela and Pinzón.
• G. s. rothschildi is found on Marchesa.
• G. s. scandens is found on Santiago and Rábida.

Habitat and range

Found in the arid zone of many of the islands in the Galápagos, the Common Cactus Finch is seldom far from areas of Opuntia cactus.