Scissor-billed koa finch Scissor-billed koa finch The scissor-billed koa finch, ("Rhodacanthis forfex") or scissor finch is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. Of the four species in the genus "Rhodacanthis", the scissor-billed koa finch and the primitive koa finch became extinct before the arrival of the first Europeans to Hawaii in 1778. It was endemic to the islands of Maui and Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. The scissor-billed koa finch was a granivore, that, like the other members of its genus, had a bill adapted to eat the hard seeds and pods of legumes. Pollen and fossil evidence indicates that "Ka palupalu o
Acacia koa there are few koa remaining which are both large and straight enough to do so today. In areas where cattle are present, koa regeneration is almost completely suppressed. However, if the cattle are removed, koa are among the few native Hawaiian plants able to germinate in grassland, and can be instrumental in restoring native forest. It is often possible to begin reforestation in a pasture by disk harrowing the soil, as this scarifies seeds in the soil and encourages large numbers of koa to germinate. Experiments at the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge have shown that ōhia lehua ("Metrosideros polymorpha")