This is the Huia, Heteralocha acutirostris.

It hasn’t been seen since the mid 20th century.

The huia was around 48 cm long, from its beak to the tip of its tail, or 45 cm in the case of the male. Its feathers were glossy black, with a green iridescence, and the tail feathers were tipped with a band of bright white. The beak of the male was short, thick and straight, while the female’s was long, fine and curved. This difference in beak shape meant male and female birds foraged differently - both sexes fed on the large grubs of beetles that burrowed within decaying trees, but the male used his short, sturdy bill to chisel the wood, while the female used her narrower beak to probe the tunnels within. Although it could appear that the male and female birds were working together, with one accessing food for the benefit of the other, it is more likely that the birds were exhibiting an extreme form of niche differentiation, reducing competition between the sexes in a highly complex ecosystem. Nevertheless, pairs bonded strongly and were usually seen together, constantly communicating and caressing each other with their bills. It was said that if one of the pair died, the other would die soon after.

The huia was treasured by the Maori people, who saw the sexes’ interdependency as representing extreme fidelity, devotion and faithfulness. Like many birds on the island, they were unafraid of humans, and were sometimes kept as pets.

The huia was said to be easily attracted to imitations of its call, such as this. This was recorded in 1949, and features the whistles of Mr Hēnare Hāmana, who, then in his 60s, had the opportunity to observe the bird in his youth, when it was still common. His depiction here is of both the male and the female of the species.

Its tail feathers were highly prized, and were worn in the hair ceremonially, usually upright, on the side or top of the head, one or two at a time. In Maori culture, feathers are symbolically important through their association with birds, which link the land of the living and the spirits of the air.

The feathers of the huia were kept in ornately carved wooden boxes, which were hung from the ceilings of houses, exposing them to constantly dry, smoky air, which preserved the feathers from insect attack. As the boxes were normally viewed from below, the undersides were particularly intricate. Some of the finest art from the region can be found in the form of these feather boxes.

Although the huia could only be found on some parts of the island, the feathers were traded throughout the island, and also to the neighbouring island. They were also passed through generations. As they were an austere item denoting status or rank, it is thought that a limited number of feathers were held in this way, meaning birds were only rarely killed. Additionally, the Maori placed a rāhui, or hunting ban, on the bird in spring and summer.

In 1901, as a token of respect, a Maori woman placed a single huia feather in the hats of the visiting Duke and Duchess of York, later to become King George V and Queen Mary. This sparked a trend, and soon huia feathers were being sold for hat decorations for as much as £5 each, equivalent to nearly $1000 in 2019. With a huia tail normally holding 12 feathers, the birds were suddenly worth a small fortune.

Mounted specimens were also prized by naturalists and ornithologists for their beauty and increasing rarity, and thousands were shipped to collections all over Europe.

Its new-found value to hunters, as well as pressure from habitat loss for agriculture, infrastructure and settlements, and introduced mammals such as rats, cats and stoats, meant it wasn’t long before the huia was becoming difficult to find. As late as 1906, there were reports of abundance in some areas, but in 1907, just one year later, the last confirmed, official sighting of 3 birds took place. Sporadic, unconfirmed sightings followed for approximately 50 years, the last of which occurred in 1963. When this recording was made in 1949, there were, in all likelihood, still a small number of huia present in remote parts of the island.

The decline of this species was viewed somewhat fatalistically at the time. The environmental movement was not taken up by the mainstream until the 1970s. Few attempts were made to protect the huia, or indeed any of the native animals on the island, as extinction was thought inevitable - a price of colonisation. The focus of interest in the bird was therefore to collect as many specimens as possible before it disappeared.

With the huia’s extinction, the value of its tail feathers has only increased. In 2010, a single feather sold at auction for $8,000, making it the most expensive feather in history.