Animalia Life
Psittirostra palmeri
TAXONOMY
Psittirostra palmeri/Rhodacanthis palmeri Rothschild, 1892.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Psittirostre de Palmer; German: Orangebrust-Koagimpel;
Spanish: Koa Grande.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
9 in (23 cm); weight unknown; was largest known honeycreeper.
Sexually dimorphic; male was brilliant scarlet-orange
on head, neck, and breast, with lighter orange below, and olive
brown with orange touches on back, wings, and tail; female
was brownish olive, somewhat lighter below.
DISTRIBUTION
Confined areas on the Big Island (Hawaii). Neighboring
species were the closely related lesser koa finch (Rhodocanthis
flaviceps) and the Kona grosbeak.
HABITAT
Mesic, high-elevation forests.
BEHAVIOR
Active and agile, compared to the lethargic Kona grosbeak.
Had little or no fear of humans and would approach a person
who imitated their call or song. Male song a whistled series of
up to six notes, each successive note held longer; male call a
series of two or three whistles, descending in pitch and each
like a long “weeek.” Female alarm call was a low, deep single
note, difficult to locate.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Greater and lesser koa finches and the Kona grosbeak had
powerful bills for dealing with tough foods. Koa finches cut
open and ate green pods and seeds of their staple food the koa
tree (Acacia koa), and had large stomachs for processing masses
of vegetable matter.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Not known.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Greater and lesser koa finches, and the Kona grosbeak were
extinct within 10 years after discovery in the 1890s. All three
species had restricted ranges.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
Photo Gallery of - Greater koa finch
