New Revelations about Darwin’s Finches (They Aren’t Finches At All)

Calendar
When:
May 20, 2025 @ 7:00 pm
2025-05-20T19:00:00-05:00
2025-05-20T19:15:00-05:00
Where:
Heller Nature Center
2821 Ridge Rd
Highland Park, IL 60035
USA
Cost:
Free
Programs
Heller Nature Center Program
New Revelations about Darwin’s Finches (They Aren’t Finches At All) @ Heller Nature Center | Highland Park | Illinois | United States

The group of songbirds known as Darwin’s finches that Charles Darwin collected in the Galapagos on his 1830s HMS Beagle expedition are frequently (and mistakenly) associated with his formulation of the theory of evolution by natural selection, but recent genetic studies have established that these birds are actually tanagers in the family Thraupidae. John Bates, the Rowe Family Curator of Evolutionary Biology at the Field Museum, will join us to explain the research behind these new revelations and other insights provided by genetic research into the relationships in this amazing family of New World birds.