Nihoa Finch

Telespiza ultima

The Nihoa finch (Telespiza ultima) is one of the two endemic bird species of the tiny Hawaiian island Nihoa, the other being the Nihoa millerbird. When it was classified in 1917, scientists thought that it would be the last endemic species named. This was later found untrue. The island's population is 1000–3000 birds. The Nihoa 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 Nihoa population was wiped out. This attempt, however, failed. Nihoa is part of a group of islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge which provides protected land for the Nihoa finch to roam on.