BirdNote; The Vampire Finch

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BirdNote®
The Vampire Finch
Out For Blood: Vampire Finches of the Galapagos
Written by Bob Sundstrom
[Thunderclap]
This is BirdNote.
[Featured audio: creepy music - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjzctj ]
In the far-off Galápagos Islands, blood is dripping. There are vampires at work.
But they don't wait for cover of darkness to take wing. [Sharp-beaked Ground Finch song, https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/86756, 1.02-1.05] They menace their victims in broad daylight, stabbing holes in their flesh, then devouring the blood.
[Sharp-beaked Ground Finch song, https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/86756, 1.02-1.05]
These vampires aren't bats. Or castaway Transylvanian aristocrats. They’re Vampire Ground-Finches. And they look innocent enough.
Vampire Ground-Finches sometimes eat seeds, but during the dry season, seeds can be scarce. And their survival options are few: fly to another island, starve, or ... see what else nature offers.
On offer are large seabirds, like boobies. [Blue-footed Booby call, https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/28658, 0.16-.17] Fluttering onto a booby’s back, the finch jabs its sharp beak in among the feathers until blood flows. Again and again the finch dips its beak in the blood, making a meal of it.
Why boobies tolerate the blood-letting isn’t known. They may be too preoccupied with nesting. [Blue-footed Booby call, https://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/28658, 0.16-.17] Or it may be there are so many finches that boobies have no alternative but to adapt to a part-time role as blood donors.
Happy Halloween … from BirdNote. I’m Michael Stein (maniacal laugh).
###
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. 86756 recorded by Robert I. Bowman and 28658 recorded by Arnoud B van den Berg.
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Managing Producer: Jason Saul
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
© 2017 Tune In to Nature.org October 2017 Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# GEOSEP-01-2017-10-31 GEOSEP-01
This record is featured in “BirdNote.”
Series
BirdNote
Episode
The Vampire Finch
Producing Organization
BirdNote
Contributing Organization
BirdNote (Seattle, Washington)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-d9092a729cc
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Description
Episode Description
Vampire Ground-Finches menace their victims in broad daylight, stabbing holes in their flesh, then devouring the blood. During the dry season, when their usual diet of seeds can be scarce, they turn to large seabirds, like boobies. Fluttering onto a booby’s back, the finch jabs its sharp beak in among the feathers until blood flows, making a meal of it. Why boobies tolerate this remains a mystery.
Created Date
2017-10-31
Asset type
Episode
Topics
Science
Subjects
Birds
Rights
Sounds for BirdNote stories were provided by the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Xeno-Canto, Martyn Stewart, Chris Peterson, John Kessler, and others. Where music was used, fair use was taken into consideration. Individual credits are found at the bottom of each transcript.
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:01:45.195
Embed Code
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Credits
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Producing Organization: BirdNote
Writer: Sundstrom, Bob
AAPB Contributor Holdings
BirdNote
Identifier: cpb-aacip-5888ac01906 (Filename)
Format: Hard Drive
Generation: Master
Duration: 00:01:45
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Citations
Chicago: “BirdNote; The Vampire Finch,” 2017-10-31, BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 19, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-d9092a729cc.
MLA: “BirdNote; The Vampire Finch.” 2017-10-31. BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 19, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-d9092a729cc>.
APA: BirdNote; The Vampire Finch. Boston, MA: BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-d9092a729cc