The Laysan finch is a member of the honeycreeper family. The adult male has a yellow head, breast, and back, a gray neck collar, and whitish belly. The adult female has a yellow crown with some brown streaking, a gray collar, yellow throat and breast, and the back feathers have dark brown spots edged with brown with a trace of yellow. Yellow on the female is less brilliant than that on the male. The length is 6 to 6.5 inches and the male is slightly larger than the female.