Nihoa Finch

Open encyclopedia reference

The Nīhoa finch (Telespiza ultima)(Hawaiian: palihoa) is one of the two endemic bird species of the tiny Hawaiian island of Nīhoa, the other being the Nīhoa millerbird. The island's population is 1000–3000 birds. The Nīhoa finch was added to the Endangered Species List by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on March 11, 1967. An attempt to protect the species against extinction was made by starting a colony on French Frigate Shoals, another leeward island. This would ensure its continued existence in case the Nīhoa population was wiped out. This attempt, however, failed. Nīhoa is part of a group of islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge which provides protected land for the Nīhoa finch to roam on. In August 2026, 49 Nīhoa finch were translocated to Kapou Island, also known as Lisianski Island/Papaʻāpoho, to establish an insurance population, the third single-island species translocation in the NW Hawaiian Islands after Laysan Finch and Nīhoa Millerbird.

Wikipedia contributors, Nīhoa finch; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:18:23.165269+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Telespiza ultima Bryan, 1917

Name authority

Bryan, 1917

Common name

Nihoa Finch

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Fringillidae

Genus

Telespiza

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPasseriformes
10. familyFringillidae Leach, 1820
11. genusTelespiza S. B. Wilson, 1890
12. speciesTelespiza ultima Bryan, 1917

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Telespiza. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 174 records assigned to Fringillidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554450 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:556D3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.