Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary

Peter and Rosemary Grant travel to the island of Daphne Major, which is located in the Galapagos Islands. They stay for six months out of each year to study the finches indigenous only to this island. They have done this for over twenty years and are the leading experts in the field of evolutionary biology. They take measurements and blood samples from each finch to find proof of evolutionary change in the species. They have watched the population of finches on this island grow to over 1000 and drop to close to 300.

Daphne Major is little more than volcanic rock with no actual shoreline. The Grants and their party have to jump onto a small landing on the side of a cliff to get to the top of the island. They bring six months of supplies, including water, to keep them alive...