Greater koa finch below. It had a thick black bill which allowed it to break open seed pods that were found in the trees. In historical times, its range was largely confined to the Kona District of the island of Hawaii, although it was observed in the Kīlauea area in 1895. It was much more widespread prior to the arrival of humans in Hawaii, and related species lived on other islands. In Kona, it co-occurred with the closely related lesser koa finch ("Rhodocanthis flaviceps"), and the Kona grosbeak. The lesser and greater koa finches were once thought by scientists to be the minimum
Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa in 1962, and continue to manufacture and sell the product worldwide. "Pei pa koa" had annual sales of HK$350 million in 2014. A study at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine published in a 1994 article, "Pharmacological studies of nin jion pei pa koa", states that Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa had significant cough relieving and sputum removing effects. In four acute or sub-acute inflammatory models, the anti-inflammatory effect was marked.." "Pei pa koa" is made up of a blend of herbal ingredients including the fritillary bulb ("Bulbus fritillariae cirrhosae", 川貝母), loquat leaf ("Eriobotrya japonica", 枇鈀葉), ladybell root ("Adenophora