Flightless Birds
The Galapagos Islands are known for being free of many land predators. The absence of this threat has caused some animals to evolve in different ways. The most significant is the Flightless Cormorant, which is, as its name states, unable to fly. As it had no need to fly away from predators, the cormorant's wings deteriorated, and are now approximately a third of the size they would need to be in order for a bird of its size to fly. Charles Darwin proposed that long ago, the cormorants had flown to the Islands, and since then lost the ability to fly as they had no need to.
A Flightless Cormorant swimming
Without the ability to fly, the cormorant has developed large, powerful legs for propelling itself through water in search for food. Never going further than 100 meters offshore, it feeds on fish, eels, and small octopi. But due to human interference, the Flightless Cormorant is now a vulnerable species. They do not seem to fear humans, who often approach and even pick them up. Also, the introduction of cats and dogs on the Islands had a drastic effect on the population of the Flightless Cormorant. Although its evolution did not affect its survival in the past, it may become the very cause of its possible extinction in the future.