What a real vampire looks like: a finch bird that drinks blood instead of water (4 photos)

This vampire bird drinks blood to provide water.





This vampire of the animal world is the sharp-billed ground finch, endemic to the Galapagos Islands. In fact, even in the archipelago it is found only on two islands: Darwin and Wolf. As the name implies, the bird has a very sharp beak, with the help of which it can easily cut fruits and nuts. This beak is also used to drink blood.



Fortunately, the similarities with vampires end there: finches do not go hunting at night and do not sleep in coffins, and sparrow-sized birds do not drink blood all the time. On waterless islands, sometimes they are left without liquid and food, so the blood of other birds is just a way to satisfy the physical needs of the finch.

The main victims of the bloodsucker are Nazcan and blue-footed boobies. Moreover, these birds are much larger than the finch, but they allow him to sit on his back, do not resist at all and do not drive away the little vampire. There's a reason for this: finches usually rid gannets of parasites and annoying insects by pecking them out of their feathers and skin. Here is an unusual mutually beneficial coexistence: finches rid gannets of parasites, and they give them blood to drink.





Scientists came to the conclusion that it was for this reason that the Galapagos finches developed such a feature: sometimes they pecked the skin too much, until it bled, but eventually they got used to it and turned into bloodsuckers. However, the harsh laws of nature do not end there: finches not only drink the blood of gannets, they also eat their eggs. Vampires steal eggs and roll them over rocks, pushing them with their sharp beaks until they break.



Blood feeding is extremely rare in birds, so the finch's behavior is considered an adaptation to the conditions of the islands.