Has natural selection really been tested and verified?

Except that the Cocos Island finch is not a true finch. It belongs to the family Thraupidae while true finches belong to the family called Fringillidae. It is in fact a tanager. You are also making the assumption that it has lived on Cocos island for as long as the finches on Galapagos, when for all you know it may be a relatively recent arrival to Cocos (recent being measured in mere centuries). It is closely related to other tanagers on the mainland.Tanagers do tend to form groups of endemic species, according to wikipedia. I'll leave it to any bird experts to explain why.Respectfully,-MeldinoorABE: It looks like Darwin's finches have also been reclassified as tanagers, putting them in the same family as the Cocos Island Finch.Edited by Meldinoor, : No reason given.

That's your opinion. I certainly don't ignore anyone's post simply because they're on the other "side". I think quite a few people on this site are here to learn. I have on several occassions conceded when I've been shown to be wrong. That may well be the case with you, apparently you have a hard time believing that any of us could be skeptical of our own beliefs.Respectfully,-Meldinoor