Lesser Koa Finch (Rhodacanthis flaviceps)
Posted on 31 December, 1891 in Extinct
Year Last Seen:
1891
Comments:
This species is known from the Hawaii's Big Island, USA, but has been driven Extinct by the logging of its forest habitat. It was last recorded in 1891 and collectors visiting in 1893 failed to find it.
Habitat:
It inhabited montane koa forest.
Causes:
The cause of its extinction is unknown (Greenway 1967), but habitat destruction and the spread of avian malaria are likely to have been responsible.
Distribution:
Rhodacanthis flaviceps was probably very rare when discovered and is known from only a handful of skins (now in New York and London) from Kona, Hawai'i, USA (Stattersfield et al. 1998). It was last recorded in 1891, and Perkins failed to find it on a visit two years later (Greenway 1967). This or a similar species is also known from the fossil record of O'ahu and Maui (James and Olson 1991).