 The bird is sexually dimorphic; the male was brilliant scarlet-orange on head, neck, and breast, with lighter orange on its bottom, and olive brown with orange touches on back, wings, and tail; however, the female was brownish olive, and somewhat lighter 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.