Nihoa Finch Telespiza ultima Scientific name definitions

No one who has encountered the fearless Laysan and Nihoa finches can remain uncharmed. Having evolved without terrestrial ground predators and with few avian predators, they readily approach other animals that they encounter, including humans, and are easily captured. In the absence of humans, their intense curiosity is adaptive for their omnivorous feeding habits, but in the presence of humans, this intense curiosity can be non-adaptive. The finches find human paraphernalia (such as tents or plastic containers) irresistible: more than one biologist has been horrified to discover an overheated finch dead inside a hot tent, caught under a tarp, stuck in a pit toilet, or drowned in a bucket of water. A nesting female on eggs, sometimes unwilling to flush, must be slowly pushed aside in order to examine the nest's contents. During biologist John Sincock's first visit to Nihoa in 1967, he gently picked up one healthy finch and photographed it in his hand (Sincock and Kridler 1977 Sincock, J. L. and E. Kridler. (1977). The extinct and endangered endemic birds of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Honolulu, HI: Unpubl. manuscript, U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. Close ). In spite of field camp rules to keep the finches wild by not feeding them, one “camp follower” Laysan Finch regularly hopped onto socks (still being worn) and picked off and ate favorite seeds that had gotten stuck on the socks. The scurrying, inquisitive, and adaptable nature of the finches has earned them the dubious nickname of “flying mice”(MPM).

The Laysan and Nihoa finches are closely related members of the Hawaiian Honeycreeper Subfamily (Drepanidinae), and are two of the four remaining so-called “finch-billed” drepanidine species with functional populations. The other two species are the Palila (Loxioides bailleui) and the Maui Parrotbill (Pseudonestor xanthophyrys: see Simon et al. 1997 Simon, J. C., P. E. Baker, and H. Baker. 1997. Maui Parrotbill (Pseudonestor xanthophrys). In The Birds of North America, No. 311 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington D.C. Close ), although evidence suggests that the Parrotbill is more closely allied with the sickle-billed dre-panidines. Another finch-billed species, the ‘Ö‘ü (Psittirostra psittacea) is recently extinct, four other extinct finch-billed species are historically known, and additional species were recently described from bones or are known from undescribed fossils (James and Olson 1991 James, H. F. and S. L. Olson. (1991). Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part 2: Passeriformes. Ornithological Monographs 46. Close , Snetsinger et al. 1998 Snetsinger, T. J., M. H. Reynolds, and C. M. Herrmann. 1998. ʻŌʻū (Psittirostra psittacea) and Lānaʻi Hookbill (Dysmorodrepanis munroi). In The Birds of North America, No. 335-336 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. Close , Olson 1999 Olson, S. L. 1999. Kona Grosbeak (Chloridops kona), Greater Koa-Finch (Rhodacanthis palmeri), and Lesser Koa-Finch (Rhodacanthis flaviceps). In The Birds of North America, No. 424 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. Close ).

Laysan Finches are now naturally restricted to the remote refuge island of Laysan, and a small introduced population also occurs on Pearl and Hermes Atoll; Nihoa Finches are likewise now restricted to the refuge island of Nihoa. Introduced populations of Laysan Finches at Midway Atoll and Nihoa finches at French Frigate Shoals have been extirpated since about 1944 and the mid-to-late1970s, respectively (Fisher and Baldwin 1946 Fisher, H. I. and P. H. Baldwin. (1946). War and the birds of Midway Atoll. Condor 48:3-15. Close , U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1984d Fish, U.S. and Wildlife Service. (1984d). Recovery plan for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands passerines. Portland, OR: U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. Close ). As is the case for many endemic Hawaiian species, fossils of Laysan and Nihoa Finches have also been found on one or more of the main Hawaiian Islands, which indicates a much wider distribution during the Holocene (Olson and James 1982b Olson, S. L., and H. F. James (1982). Prodromus of the fossil avifauna of the Hawaiian Islands. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology no. 365, Washington, DC, USA. Close , James and Olson 1991 James, H. F. and S. L. Olson. (1991). Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part 2: Passeriformes. Ornithological Monographs 46. Close ). All four of the remaining finch-billed drepanidines are listed as endangered species, which is not surprising given the array of other finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreepers that are now known to have become extinct either during historical times or during the earlier centuries of Polynesian colonization (James and Olson 1991 James, H. F. and S. L. Olson. (1991). Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part 2: Passeriformes. Ornithological Monographs 46. Close , Snetsinger et al. 1998 Snetsinger, T. J., M. H. Reynolds, and C. M. Herrmann. 1998. ʻŌʻū (Psittirostra psittacea) and Lānaʻi Hookbill (Dysmorodrepanis munroi). In The Birds of North America, No. 335-336 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. Close , Olson 1999 Olson, S. L. 1999. Kona Grosbeak (Chloridops kona), Greater Koa-Finch (Rhodacanthis palmeri), and Lesser Koa-Finch (Rhodacanthis flaviceps). In The Birds of North America, No. 424 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. Close ). No Hawaiian names are known for the Laysan and Nihoa finches.

The bright yellow head and breast of the adult male Laysan Finch are striking; although females and immatures have some yellow, they are generally drabber and more streaked. A few older females are almost as brightly yellow as the males. Nihoa Finches are slightly smaller than Laysan Finches, and the females and immatures more heavily streaked.

Laysan Finch song has been described as “canary-like” (Bryan 1917 Bryan, W. A. (1917). Description of Telespiza ultima from Nihoa Island. Auk 34:70. Close ), explaining why the species has sometimes been called the “Laysan Canary” (Munro 1960 Munro, G. C. (1960). Birds of Hawai'i. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, VT, USA. Close ). In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Laysan Finches were taken to Honolulu, O‘ahu I., and elsewhere to be kept as cage birds, but eventually all died, almost certainly owing to their vulnerability to avian diseases (Wilson 1890b Wilson, S. B. (1890b). On a new finch from Midway Island, north Pacific. Ibis 7:339-341. Close , Warner 1968a Warner, R. E. (1968a). The role of introduced diseases in the extinction of the endemic Hawaiian avifauna. Condor 70:101-120. Close , Ely and Clapp 1973 Ely, C. A. and R. B. Clapp. (1973). The natural history of Laysan Island Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 171. Close , Van Riper et al. 1986 Van Riper, C., III, S. G. Van Riper, M. L. Goff and M. Laird. (1986). The epizootiology and ecological significance of malaria in Hawaiian land birds. Ecological Monographs 56:327-344. Close ). The Laysan Finch was first described by Wilson (Wilson 1890b Wilson, S. B. (1890b). On a new finch from Midway Island, north Pacific. Ibis 7:339-341. Close ), based on a captive subadult bird he purchased in Honolulu that had been brought there by the schooner “Mary Bohm” (Berger 1981 Berger, A. J. (1981). Hawaiian Birdlife. Second edition. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, HI, USA. Close ). The holotype currently resides in Leiden and looks just like the plate from Wilson's original description (Olson and James 1986 Olson, S. L. and H. F. James. (1986). The holotype of the Laysan Finch Telespiza cantans Wilson (Passeriformes: Drepanidini). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 106 (2):84-86. Close ).

There is no evidence that Polynesians ever lived on Laysan I. Laysan's interesting recent history is summarized by Ely and Clapp (Ely and Clapp 1973 Ely, C. A. and R. B. Clapp. (1973). The natural history of Laysan Island Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 171. Close ; see Conservation and management: effects of human activity, below).

Most information about the Laysan Finch has been obtained in the past 40 years. J. Sincock and E. Kridler did population studies in the 1960s. We studied finch breeding biology, ecology, morphometrics, and demography from 1980 to the present time. Some genetic studies have been published (Fleischer et al. 1991a Fleischer, R. C., S. Conant and M. P. Morin. (1991a). Genetic variation in native and translocated populations of the Laysan Finch (Telespiza cantans). Heredity 66:125-130. Close , Tarr et al. 1998 Tarr, C. L., S. Conant and R. C. Fleischer. (1998). Founder events and variation at microsatellite loci in an insular passerine bird, the Laysan Finch (Telespiza cantans). Molecular Ecology 7:719-731. Close , Tarr et al. in press), and others are on-going (A. McClung pers. comm.).

That Nihoa Finches survived on tiny Nihoa I. is surprising, because Polynesians inhabited and then abandoned the island before Western contact occurred in the late 1700s. Extensive archaeological features on Nihoa include agricultural terraces, indicating humans had a significant impact on ecosystems there (Cleghorn 1988 Cleghorn, P. L. (1988). The settlement and abandonment of two Hawaiian outposts: Nihoa and Necker islands. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 28:35-49. Close , Juvik and Juvik 1998 Juvik, S. P. and J. O. Juvik. (1998). Atlas of Hawai'i. 3rd ed. Univ. of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu: Univ. of Hawai'i at Hilo, Dep. of Geogr. Close ). Although the Nihoa Finch was reportedly seen on Nihoa I. in 1885 by Sanford Dole (Munro Munro 1941a Munro, G. C. (1941a). Birds of Hawaii and adventures in bird study: an ocean cruise. 'Elepaio 2 (6):41-43. Close , Munro 1960 Munro, G. C. (1960). Birds of Hawai'i. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, VT, USA. Close ) and again seen in 1915 (Bryan 1916 Bryan, W. A. (1916). An undescribed species of Drepanididae on Nihoa, Hawaiian Group. Auk 33:49-52. Close ), it was not collected and officially described until 1916 (Bryan 1917 Bryan, W. A. (1917). Description of Telespiza ultima from Nihoa Island. Auk 34:70. Close , Vanderbilt and Meyer De Schauensee 1941 Vanderbilt, G. and R. Meyer De Schauensee. (1941). Zoological results of the Vanderbilt Nihoa Expedition. I. Summary of zoological explorations and the birds of Nihoa. Notulae Naturae, Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 86:1-14. Close ). It was given the specific name of “ ultima ” because Bryan (Bryan 1917 Bryan, W. A. (1917). Description of Telespiza ultima from Nihoa Island. Auk 34:70. Close ) thought this would very likely be the last native Hawaiian passerine to be “discovered” by western biologists. The Nihoa Finch has not been well studied: other than periodic censuses done by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, most of the scant information has been obtained by Sincock and Kridler (Sincock and Kridler 1977 Sincock, J. L. and E. Kridler. (1977). The extinct and endangered endemic birds of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Honolulu, HI: Unpubl. manuscript, U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. Close ), Conant (Conant 1983b Conant, S. (1983b). Ecological requirements of the Nihoa Millerbird and the Nihoa Finch, including an analysis of management options for the Millerbird. Honolulu, HI: Unpubl. Rep. U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. Close , unpubl. data), and Conant et al. (Conant et al. 1981b Conant, S., M. S. Collins and C. J. Ralph. (1981b). "Effects of observers using different methods upon the total population estimates of two resident island birds." In Estimating the numbers of terrestrial birds., edited by C. J. Ralph and J. M. Scott, 377-381. Stud. Avian Biol. 6. Close ). The holotype and three paratypes are in the Los Angeles County Museum, CA (Willett 1945 Willett, G. (1945). The type of Telespiza ultima Bryan. Auk 62:139. Close ).