Kauaʻi palila

The Kauai palila or Pila's palila is an extinct species of Hawaiian finch that was much larger than the palila. It was described from subfossil remains discovered at the Makauwahi Cave on the south coast of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands.

Extinction

The Kauai palila was one of many native Hawaiian birds that was affected by drastic changes in the environment due to farming. The dry forest was cut down, and irrigation from streams became widespread. The ecosystem became much wetter, and the remaining naio trees began to rot away. Soon Pila's palila was pushed to its limit, and became extinct, though it had lived for a long time, despite human competition and destruction of their habitat. Some speculate that the latest remaining specimen dates back to the 1800s. Today the Kauai palila is known from a few specimens, found on the island of Kauai. The Hawai'ian name of this bird is unknown, since it seems to have disappeared before Europeans arrived to record the name.