Giant Tortoises
Land Lizards
Insects
Plant Life
Birds
Two owl species are resident in the Galápagos. The Short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is wide-spread and more common in the archipelago, and more frequently seen -- especially in the seabird colonies of Genovesa island. It hunts by day as well as night, its diet overlapping that of the Galápagos hawk and barn owl though their feeding times usually differ. Short-eared owls are found throughout much of Europe, Asia and the Americas, and the Galápagos variety is thought to be a race rather than a true species. As is frequently the case with Galápagos endemics, the coloration is darker, and the bird smaller.
The Galápagos barn owl (Tyto punctissima) lives on Santa Cruz, Isabela, San Cristóbal and Fernandina, though Steadman points out it is now extinct on Floreana because of introduced mammals such as cats. It has the distinctive heart-shaped face of the common barn owl, though is smaller and darker. Like its cousin, it is almost entirely nocturnal, and rarely seen. Its diet consists primarily of small rodents, lizards, birds and bats, and its habitat is in lava tubes, holes in trees and abandoned buildings.
