Lesser Koa-Finch

SCI Name:  Rhodacanthis flaviceps
Protonym:  Rhodacanthis flaviceps Ann.Mag.Nat.Hist.(6), 10 p.111
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Fringillidae / Rhodacanthis
Taxonomy Code:  lekfin
Type Locality:  Kona, Hawaii.
Author:  Rothschild
Publish Year:  1892
IUCN Status:  Extinct

DEFINITIONS

RHODACANTHIS
‡ (Fringillidae; Ϯ Greater Koa-finch R. palmeri) Gr. ῥοδον  rhodon  rose; ακανθις akanthis, ακανθιδος akanthidos  finch; "RHODACANTHIS, gen. nov.  Bill stout and strong, broad at the base, the upper mandible sharp-pointed and curved as in Psittirostra, but not so long; legs robust; first primary about equal to the fifth, the second and third equal and longest, the fourth a trifle shorter; tail slightly forked.  Obs. This genus is intermediate between Chloridops and Psittirostra, having the bill stout and large, as in the former, but longer and sharp-pointed, therein resembling the latter.  Rhodacanthis Palmeri, sp. n.  Adult male. Head and throat rich reddish orange  ...  lower throat and underparts dull orange-yellow  ...  Hab. Kona, Hawai, Sandwich Islands.    Rhodacanthis flaviceps, sp. n.  Adult male. Head, neck, and underparts generally apple-yellow, brighter and richer on the head and neck and greener on the underparts.  ...  Hab. Kona, Hawai, Sandwich group." (Rothschild 1892); "Rhodacanthis Rothschild, 1892, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 6, 10, p. 110. Type, by subsequent designation (Bryan and Greenway, 1944, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 94, p. 135), Rhodacanthis palmeri Rothschild." (Greenway in Peters 1968, XIV, 102).

flaviceps
L. flavus  yellow; -ceps  -capped  < caput, capitis  head.
● ex “Tordo cabeza amarilla” of de Azara 1802-1805, no. 66 (syn. Xanthopsar flavus).