The giant nukupuu (''Hemignathus vorpalis'') is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

species of

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

in the family

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

, 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 preserve ...

remains. It was endemic to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. 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 genus of Hawaiian honeycreepers in the subfamily Carduelinae of the family Fringillidae. All species are endemic to Hawaii. Extinctions Many of its species became extinct during the 19th and 20th centuries due to a combina ...

''.

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-neornithine-stub