Maui Nui Finch

Maui Nui Finch
Conservation status
Extinct
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Suborder:	Passeri
Parvorder:	Passerida
Family:	Fringillidae
Subfamily:	Drepanidinae
Tribe:	Psittirostrini
Genus:	Telespiza
Species:	T. ypsilon
Binomial name
Telespiza ypsilon James & Olson, 1991

The Maui Nui Finch (Telespiza ypsilon) is an extinct member of the genus Telespiza in the family Fringillidae. It was endemic to the Hawaiian islands of Molokai and Maui. It is only known from fossil remains and likely became extinct before the first Europeans visited Hawaii in 1778.

Extinction

Due to its early extinction, very little is known about this species. It is only known from a few bones found in caves. It appears that this species began to go extinct when the first Polynesians settlers came to the islands. They cleared some of the land for farming and introduced species for which the native birds had no defence. According to fossil records, their numbers declined rapidly in the early 12th century^{[citation needed]}. It has been speculated that this species' visits to lower elevations was its undoing due to contact with avian diseases and pests^{[citation needed]}. Today, only about sixty percent of Hawaii has not been drastically altered^{[citation needed]}. Many avian diseases and parasites also pose a major threat to Hawai'i's native forest birds.

References

• James, Helen F., & Olson, Storrs L. (1991). Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes. Ornithological Monographs 46. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington D.C.