A sacred bird for Māori, only people of high rank were entitled to wear their distinctive white-tipped black feathers. Huia were unique in the bird world for the extreme difference between the beaks of male (short) and female (long and curved).
Largest of the wattlebirds, huia had few defences against the 19th century influx of Europeans, animals, and the loss of their habitat as forests were burned and felled to make way for pastureland.
The last recorded sighting of the huia was in the Tararua bush in 1907.
Huia, taxidermy, wood
Huia, female - mounted on a branch with a wood base.
Huia, taxidermy
Huia (male) study skin
Huia bones, bone
Huia (Heterolocha acutirostris) bones - partial skeleton female (60 parts)
Huia bones, bone
Huia (Heterolocha acutirostris) bones - partial skeleton
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