The bird is Critically Endangered and possibly extinct due to disease (avian malaria), introduced and invasive plants and wildlife, and habitat loss.

The last visual observation was of two individuals on the Poamoho Trail (near Wahiawa) in a Christmas Bird Count on 12 December 1985.

[2] Shortly after the last visual observation, a large portion of habitat in the North Halawa Valley, where most of the bird's most recent confirmed sightings were made, was destroyed for Interstate H-3, with U.S.

Senator Daniel Inouye adding a rider to exempt the freeway from environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act, which would have otherwise protected the bird's habitat but blocked highway construction.

The IUCN Red List estimates that less than 50, and likely only about 1–7 individuals, remain if the species is still extant.