Huia

About Huia in brief

The huia is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island. The last confirmed sighting was in 1907, although there were credible sightings as late as the early 1960s. It was remarkable for having the most pronounced sexual dimorphism in bill shape of any bird species in the world. Males were 45 cm long, while females were larger at 48 cm. The sexes were otherwise similar, with orange wattles and deep metallic, bluish-black plumage with a greenish iridescence on the upper surface, especially about the head. The tail feathers were unique among New Zealand birds in having a broad white band across the tips. The birds lived in forests at both montane and lowland elevations – they are thought to have moved seasonally, living at higher elevation in summer and descending to lower elevation in winter. Huia were omnivorous and ate adult insects, grubs and spiders, as well as the fruits of a small number of native plants. Males and females used their beaks to feed in different ways: the male used his bill to chisel away at rotting wood, while the female’s longer, more flexible bill was able to probe deeper areas. The bird was regarded by Māori as tapu, and the wearing of its skin or feathers was reserved for people of high status. It is the only close relative to the stitchbird family of birds, and is the largest of the three members of the Callaeidae, the New Zealand family of wattlebirds, the saddleback and the kōkako.

A study of the molecular study of nuclear-AG1 and c-AG2 in the bird’s DNA suggests that it may be a remnant of a species that died out in the 20th century. The species was already a rare bird before the arrival of Europeans, confined to the Ruahine, Tararua, Rimutaka and Kaimanawa mountain ranges in the south-east of the North island. The extinction had two primary causes. The first was rampant overhunting to procure hUia skins for mounted specimens and their tail feathers for hat decorations. The second major cause was the widespread deforestation of the lowlands of the South Island by European settlers to create pasture for agriculture. It has been described as one of the best-known extinct birds because of its bill shape, its sheer beauty and special place in Makaori culture and oral tradition. It had a striking resemblance to a crow, with a long, thin and arched downward beak, and a short, stout and stout, like that of a crow. Its bill shape is so distinctive that it is often mentioned in biology and ornithology textbooks, but not much is known about its biology; it was little studied before it was driven to extinction. In 1840, George Robert Gray proposed the name N. gouldii, arguing that neither of Gould’s names was applicable to the species. In 1850, Jean Cabanis replaced the name Neomorpha, which had been previously used for a cuckoo genus, with Heteralocha.