''Xestospiza'' is a genus containing two species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s with cone-shaped bills that were described on the basis of

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 ...

s. They were possibly

insectivore A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

s. It consists of the following: * Cone-billed finch ('' Xestospiza conica'') –

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

* Ridge-billed finch ('' Xestospiza fastigialis'') –

References

External links

Ornitaxa.com: ''Xestospiza''
Hawaiian honeycreepers Carduelinae Endemic fauna of Hawaii Late Quaternary prehistoric birds Fossil taxa described in 1991 Extinct birds of Hawaii Holocene extinctions Bird genera Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Australasia-Pacific region Taxa named by Helen F. James {{Paleo-bird-stub