Kona Grosbeak

The Kona grosbeak (Chloridops kona) is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. The Kona grosbeak was endemic to naio (Myoporum sandwicense) forests on ʻaʻā lava flows at elevations of 1,400–1,500 metres (4,600–4,900 ft) near the Kona District on the island of Hawaii. The species was already very rare when it was first discovered, being found in only about 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi), and was last collected in 1894. Reasons for its extinction are not very well known. The genus is known from fossils from Kauai, Oahu and Maui. It was unknown to the Native Hawaiians, and thus a name for it does not exist in the Hawaiian language.