Zoie Armijo

Mrs. Fragoso

English Accelerated 8

May 12, 2017

Woodpecker Finches: A Quotidian Tool Using Animal

Us humans aren’t the only living things that are using tools to survive. A tool is a gadget or

device that is used to carry out a particular function. People believe that animals don’t have tools or

don’t use tools to live and survive. Personally, I found this intriguing that others think animals don’t use

their beak or tongue etc. To prove that animals do; in fact, use tools, I have conducted a controlled

experiment using the species woodpecker finches. I will observe how they live and survive on the

Galapagos Islands for 21 days, an hour each day.

My experiment will require a lot of effort to prove my claim that finches use a tool. The

experiment that I have put together is very simple. I will watch the actions made by the woodpecker

finches for 21 days, and I will write down the observations of the species’ behavior. In the article The

Great Crow Fallacy, Cristol, a biologist from the University of California, performed a 2 week long

experiment to find reliable data just like I am with my information. “He and his colleagues watched

crows foraging for walnuts on the streets of Davis for a total of over twenty-five hours spread over

fourteen days,” (Jackson, Jamieson, P6). When I observe the finches over a course of 21 days, I will

watch the habits of the species, like how they utilize spines from a cactus to pry the small insects out

from their burrow. The information I gather from these days will help me come to the conclusion if the

woodpecker finches use a tool and how they do.

To prove to the world that my claim is in fact true, I will also test a high numerical digit of

finches. I will test about 100 finches, or more, depending on how many that can be found on the coast
of South America. Testing this amount of finches will give me more effective data and results. When

these 100 finches are tested, it will be in an uncontrolled environment, meaning that I will not be

controlling what they eat, what the weather is like, or altering their actions and behavior for better

results. The information that I will find will show that the more animals you test, the better outcome

you’ll receive. “An estimated 10,000 crows were roosting nearby, and 150 walnut trees lined the streets

where the study was conducted. But did the crows deliberately drop walnuts in the path of oncoming

cars? The scientists watched how the crows behaved when cars were approaching; then, soon after,

they watched how crows behaved at the same places when cars were not approaching, during an

equivalent time period,” (Jackson, Jamieson, P6). This excerpt from The Great Crow Fallacy states that

having a large sample size will help you discover the best product.

My method of proving that the woodpecker finches utilize a tool, will also include traveling to

the coast of South America and observing the proximity to find and test these animals. Since this will not

be a controlled experiment, I will have to find a large amount of these finches in one particular area. My

location will be the Galapagos Islands; finches are the most commonly found there. I will make

evaluations on how they eat with the cactus spines and how it holds the spine in it’s beak to poke out

the insect. For 60 minutes, I will gather data daily and observe the finches’ distinct actions. After these 3

weeks of analyzing and analyzing information, I will then prove the woodpecker finches use a tool to live

and that my reliable data isn’t an anecdote.

In conclusion, if I took my experiment into action, my results would prove that animals of all

kinds use a tool. Since I tested the woodpecker finches, the results for them were all very similar

because they are the same species. If I was to compare two different species, their tools would be very

different from each other. Every species how their own kind of special tool, like the eating finches do.

They all are used in different ways and every single animal is different. My experiment proves that

animals like the finches have identical behaviors to each other when they are using their remarkable
tool. So, let’s revert back to what a tool really means, I have proved that animals of any kind use a

gadget or device to carry out a certain function and get the job done.