Extinct birds

58 losses since human arrival

Parrots & Parakeets

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Huia feathers for fashion

Extinction of the huia is sadly related to an international fashion of wearing their feathers in hats. On a royal visit to New Zealand, the Prince of York who later became King George V of England, was presented with a huia tail feather by a Maori chief.

Huia tail feathers are a traditional Maori symbol of authority. The Prince of York followed the old custom of wearing huia feathers in headress, by placing the feather in his hat.  This set off a world fashion trend that was devastating for huia.

Tail feathers and stuffed birds were in such demand that the bird was hunted vigorously until it was no longer found. The notable ornithologist Sir Walter Buller, who killed large numbers of huia himself, reported that a Maori hunting party collected 646 huia in one month. While the Prince of York's visit obviously affected the plight of the huia, it is not known if it was the total cause of extinction, as the bird's habitat was severely depleted by 1907.

HUIA

Extinction of the huia (Heteralocha acutirostris) in 1907 was a tragic loss to New Zealand's ancient native avifauna.  It serves as a reminder of the importance of bird protection.  While today we are astounded by the ruthless hunting of huia to extinction during a very short period, and the ignorance of the time, even amongst respected ornithologists, we are left with no excuse for more bird losses with current knowledge of the value of biodiversity.

The huia was probably New Zealand's most eccentric bird.  It was a large 48 cm (19 inch) black bird with a bright orange "wattle" at the base of an ivory beak.  It had a distinguishing wide band of white at the end of its long tail feathers.

Huia were so sexually dimorphic, and unique because of the different beak forms of the male and female, that they were at first thought to be separate species.

They were normally found feeding in pairs.  In cooperative roles, the male used his short strong beak, which resembled the beak of a starling, to break up rotting tree trunks in search of huhu bugs and other insects. The female used her long curved beak, which was like a nectar feeder's, to reach into otherwise unreachable places.

A Rotorua ranger, William Cobeldick, spotted a huia pair near Lake Waikareiti, and a lone huia at Taharua Stream in the Urewera National Park in 1924, but it had been declared extinct many years before this.

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