Palila
Photo: Jack Jeffrey, USGS · Public domain

Finches, Euphonias, and Allies

Palila

Loxioides bailleui

CRCritically Endangered Endemic to United States
Family
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies (Fringillidae)
Order
Passeriformes

Overview

The palila (Loxioides bailleui) is a critically endangered finch-billed species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It has a golden-yellow head and breast, with a light belly, gray back, and greenish wings and tail. The bird has a close ecological relationship with the māmane tree (Sophora chrysophylla), and became endangered due to destruction of the trees and accompanying dry forests. The first specimen of the palila was collected in 1876 at the Greenwell Ranch on the Big Island by Pierre Étienne Théodore Ballieu (1828–1885), who was French consul in Hawaiʻi from 1869 to 1878.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Montane mamane-naio forest of Hawaii.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.

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Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.