Cardueline finches can be found in many areas of the world, including North America and Asia. Hawaiian honeycreepers, which are found only in Hawaii, have been found to have DNA commonalities with this group of finches that indicate they have a common ancestor. Which mechanism might have led to the appearance of the Hawaiian honeycreeper?

A population of ancestral finches may have become separated from other finches when some individuals reached the Hawaiian Islands. This geographical isolation limited interbreeding with the original population, allowing the island population to evolve into Hawaiian honeycreepers. Anatomical, temporal, and behavioral isolation do not explain the separation between populations in different locations.

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