biology

Gough finch

Gough finch is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gough finch rather than just read about it. In short: The Gough finch (Rowettia goughensis) or Gough bunting, is a critically endangered species of songbird. Taxonomy The Gough finch was formally described in 1904 by the British ornithologist William Eagle Clarke from a specimen collected on Gough Island in the South Atlantic.

Key takeaways

Gough finch belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gough finch to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gough finch from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Gough finch (Rowettia goughensis) or Gough bunting, is a critically endangered species of songbird.

Taxonomy The Gough finch was formally described in 1904 by the British ornithologist William Eagle Clarke from a specimen collected on Gough Island in the South Atlantic. Clarke coined the binomial name Nesospiza goughensis. The Gough finch is now the only species placed in the genus Rowettia that was introduced in 1923 by the English ornithologist Percy Lowe. The genus name was chosen to honour John Quiller Rowett, an English businessman and the sponsor of the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition. The Gough finch was traditionally considered to be a bunting in the family Emberizidae, but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that it is a member of the subfamily Diglossinae in the tanager family Thraupidae and is sister to a clade containing birds in the genus Melanodera. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. Another species of finch was described from Gough Island, Nesospiza jessiae, in 1904. This species was later identified as a juvenile of the Gough finch.

Description The Gough finch is 22 to 26 cm (8.7–10.2 in) in length and weighs 50–56 g (1.8–2.0 oz).

Distribution and habitat It is endemic to the remote Gough Island, part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, and nearby stacks, in the South Atlantic. Its natural habitats are temperate shrubland and subantarctic grassland.

Status and conservation It was formerly classified as a Vulnerable species by the IUCN. But new research has shown that its population has collapsed and it is on the verge of extinction due to the introduced population of house mice (Mus musculus), noted for its unusual aggressiveness, competing with the birds for food and eating their eggs and nestlings. Consequently, it was uplisted to Critically Endangered in 2008.

References

Further reading Rand, A. L. (1955). "The origin of the land birds of Tristan da Cunha". Fieldiana Zoology. 37: 139–166. Vuilleumier, F (1991). "A Quantitative Survey of Speciation Phenomena in Patagonian Birds" (PDF). Ornitologia Neotropical. 2: 20–21.

External links BirdLife Species Factsheet.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gough finch

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gough finch claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gough finch before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gough finch ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gough finch

In research: Gough finch appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gough finch in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gough finch is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Birds described in 1904, Birds of Tristan da Cunha, British Atlantic territories stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gough finch outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gough finch in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gough finch means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gough finch out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gough finch in simple terms?

The Gough finch (Rowettia goughensis) or Gough bunting, is a critically endangered species of songbird. Taxonomy The Gough finch was formally described in 1904 by the British ornithologist William Eagle Clarke from a specimen collected on Gough Island in the South Atlantic.

Why does Gough finch matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gough finch?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gough finch.