This interactive module allows students to explore concepts related to speciation by identifying which birds belong to one of two finch species.

The 13 species of finches that live in the Galápagos Islands evolved from a single common ancestor within the past 3 million years. Although these species may seem similar, they generally keep to themselves and don’t interbreed. This Click & Learn demonstrates how the finches discriminate between members of their own species and those of a closely related species based on song and appearance.

The accompanying worksheet guides students’ exploration.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.