User:ZackaryZerbe 11/Green warbler-finch

Article Draft
The green warbler-finch (Certhidea olivacea) is a species of bird, one of Darwin's finches in the tanager family Thraupidae. Sometimes classified in the family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong to the tanager family.

When Darwin collected it in 1835 during the Beagle survey expedition he mistakenly thought it was a wren, but on return to England, he was informed in March 1837 by the ornithologist John Gould that the bird was in the group of finches.

It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. This species is closely related to the grey warbler-finch, and were formerly considered conspecific, but both species differ in appearance, distribution, habitat, and song.

Appearance
The average size of Green Warbler Finches is 10 cm, and their weight can range from 8-12 grams. Green Warbler Finches have a greenish coloration to blend into their lusher semi-humid forest habitats, as well as distinctive reddish throat patches on breeding males. The upper half of the adult is typically more sandy-brown which differs from the female as they have a more olive-brown upper half.

Feeding and Habitat
The Green Warbler Finch can use its sharp beak to gain access to different foods. Their diet consists mainly of fruits, insects, and small fruits. Some insects they eat include caterpillars, beetles, and ants, as well as spiders. They tend to eat more insects during the summer and more seeds, fruits, and berries during the winter months. The Green Warbler Finch tends to forage for food in small groups or alone.

The green warbler-finch consists of only one subspecies, the nominate olivacea, from Santiago, Rábida, Pinzón, Isabela, Fernandina, and Santa Cruz. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. They are most typically found on larger islands, most abundant in places that are humid and have higher elevation, and less abundant at places with low elevation and dry.

Status
The status of the Green-Warbler Finch currently is that they are vulnerable. This status is due to the bird population decreasing due to invasive plant species and habitat loss from humans. This is shown from survey periods that measured the abundance of these birds, the first being between 2008-2010 and the second between 1997-1998 in Santa Cruz, showing a 46% decrease in the bird's population.

Conservation acts that help Green Warbler Finches are the Galapagos National Park which is home to some of these birds as well as a monitoring program for all the birds on the Galapagos Islands to keep the birds from going extinct.