Rhodacanthis

Rhodacanthis is an extinct genus of finches in the Fringillidae family, they are found only on the islands of Hawaii. They all have thick beaks that are used to crush seeds on open flowers. They all probably had a diet of O'hia a lea blossoms. They were all found on the Big Island of Hawaii. The last of the genus to die was a Greater Koa which died in 1896. They were birds that were from six inches to ten inches long and had colors of green, orange, brown, black, and white. They lived in loose groups or were solitary. Two speciceswere gone before scientists came tostudy the islands, the other two died out five years apart. The Lesser Koa went first and disappeared in 1891. Its larger cousin the Greater Koa Finch died out only five yearslater in 1896. Each speices was special in its own way. The Primitive Koa Finch was the ansecter It contains the following species:
 * Lesser Koa-Finch (Rhodacanthis flaviceps) extinct (1891)
 * Greater Koa-Finch (Rhodacanthis palmeri) extinct (1896)
 * Scissor-billed Koa-finch (Rhodacanthis forfex)                                  prehistoric
 * Primitive Koa-finch (Rhodacanthis litotes) prehistoric

Rhodacanthis