That’s a type of Darwin’s finch perched atop a giant tortoise on Isabela Island, the largest of the Galápagos Islands. The Galápagos form an archipelago more than 500 miles off the west coast of the South American mainland, and the islands are home to many species found nowhere else on earth. The bird is named, of course, for Charles Darwin, the naturalist who traveled here in 1835. His observations of several finch species and other wildlife endemic to the Galápagos contributed to his theory of natural selection, which he documented in ‘On the Origin of Species,’ a book that’s considered a cornerstone of biology. It was first published on this day in 1859.
The tortoise and the finch
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
The tallest animal in the world on the longest day of the year
-
Celebrating a Paris landmark
-
Cannes, France, in the spotlight
-
An oceanic valentine
-
The meeting point of the winds
-
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
-
Red-leaf hunting in Japan
-
Saint Nicholas Day in Verbier, Switzerland
-
Bobbio, Italy
-
World Rainforest Day
-
World Water Day
-
Oh, happy day!
-
Goodbye, 2020!
-
World Jellyfish Day
-
Sanxiantai Dragon Bridge in Taitung, Taiwan
-
Ruins of St. Dwynwens Church, Ynys Llanddwyn, Wales
-
Tiny fliers head south
-
A lush, green escape
-
Indigenous Peoples Day
-
What does the fox dream?
-
It s leap day!
-
Rumelihisarı in Istanbul, Türkiye
-
The desert blooms
-
Happy Fathers Day!
-
South Padre Island, Texas
-
Beyond Walls for World Refugee Day
-
New Year’s Day in the land of the rising sun
-
Mitsumata blossoms
-
Aprils full moon
-
Meet our fuzzy Earth Day mascot