On the Galapagos islands, Charles Darwin studied many species of finches found nowhere else in the world. Each species had developed unique structures for eating different foods. Darwin's finches are among the best examples of an evolutionary process by which new biological species arise. This process is known as ...

When Charles Darwin stepped ashore on the Galapagos Islands in September 1835, it was the start of five weeks that would change the world of science, although he did not know it at the time. Among other finds, he observed and collected the variety of small birds that inhabited the islands, but he did not realize their significance, and failed to keep good records of his specimens and where they were collected.