The giant nukupuu (''Hemignathus vorpalis'') is an extinct species of

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

in the family

Fringillidae The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

, which is only known from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

remains. It was endemic to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. Its extinction is believed to have occurred within the last 3000 years, but exact timing and reasons remain unclear. It was larger and had a different bill morphology than the remaining members of the genus ''

Hemignathus ''Hemignathus'' is a Hawaiian honeycreeper genus in the subfamily Carduelinae of the finch family, Fringillidae. These birds are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Extinctions Many of its species became extinct during the 19th and 20th centurie ...

''.

References

* James, Helen F., & Olson, Storrs L. (2003). ''A giant new species of nukupuu (Fringillidae: Drepanidini: Hemignathus) from the island of Hawaii.'' The Auk. 120(4): 970–981. Hemignathus Hawaiian honeycreepers Extinct birds of Hawaii Endemic fauna of Hawaii Holocene extinctions Birds described in 2003 Taxa named by Helen F. James {{paleo-bird-stub