Huia

:This article is about the Huia, an extinct bird species. For the place, see Huia (place). For the frog species, see Huia (frog).

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The Huia (Heteralocha acutirostris) was a bird that was native to New Zealand. It is now extinct, the last confirmed sighting being in 1907 in the Tararua Ranges.

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The bird had blue-black plumage, white tail feather tips, and a bright orange wattle. The male's beak was short and straight while the female's beak was long and curved, a striking example of sexual dimorphism. One purpose of the dimorphism was that it allowed the male to chisel the entrance to beetle grub holes in living trees, thereby giving the female further reach to pull out the grub. The meals were shared. Huia had been little studied by Western naturalists before they were driven to extinction.

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The Huia's distinctive white-tipped black tail feathers were often worn by Maori chiefs as a sign of their status. This custom was later adopted by Pakeha women as a symbol of social standing. The bird was probably already in decline, however, before the arrival of European settlers: in 1888, a party of 11 Maori obtained 646 Huia skins from the forest between the Manawatu Gorge and Akitio. The visit of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, to New Zealand in 1905 produced a frenzied demand for Huia feathers among all classes of social climbers. The then Governor-General, the Earl of Onslow, tried to provide legal protection for the Huia but it was too little, too late, and the bird was reported extinct shortly afterwards.

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A recording of the bird's song survives. A serious project has been started to investigate the possibility of cloning the bird from the remains of stuffed specimens.

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The bird shares its name with a small community in Waitakere, where it was once found.

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Extinct: REDIRECT extinction...

1907: 1907 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar)....

Maori: REDIRECT M?ori...

Huia related Images and Photos (experimental)

Huia Illustration from A History of the Birds of New Zealand by W.L. Buller 1887-88