Huia

This article is about the extinct bird species. For other uses, see Huia (disambiguation).

Huia
Temporal range: Holocene
Illustration of two birds on a tree branch
A pair of huia (male in front of female)

Painting by J. G. Keulemans from W. L. Buller's A History of the Birds of New Zealand (1888)


Extinct (1907)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Callaeidae
Genus: †Heteralocha
Cabanis, 1851
Species:
†H. acutirostris
Binomial name
†Heteralocha acutirostris
(Gould, 1837)
Map of the North Island of New Zealand coloured light green with dark green stripes from the central mountains to the sea along the east coast to Wellington, and one red and two yellow dots.
Light green: original range
Dark green stripes: 1840 range
Red: site of 1907 last confirmed sighting
Yellow: sites of later unconfirmed sightings
Synonyms

Neomorpha acutirostris (female)
Neomorpha crassirostris (male)
Heteralocha gouldi

The huia (/ˈhuːjə, -iːə/ HOO-yə, -⁠ee-ə;[2] Māori: [ˈhʉiˌa]; Heteralocha acutirostris) is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was another credible sighting in 1924.[3]

It 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.[4][5] It was remarkable for its pronounced sexual dimorphism in bill shape; the female's beak was long, thin and arched downward, while the male's was short and stout, like that of a crow. Males were 45 cm (18 in) long, while females were larger at 48 cm (19 in). 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 elevations in summer and descending to lower elevations 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. Even though the huia is frequently mentioned in biology and ornithology textbooks because of this striking dimorphism, not much is known about its biology; it was little studied before going extinct.

The huia is one of New Zealand's best-known extinct birds because of its bill shape and beauty, as well as its special place in Māori culture and oral tradition. The bird was regarded by Māori as tapu (sacred), and the wearing of its skin or feathers was reserved for people of high status.

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2017) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Heteralocha acutirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22708091A119257859. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  2. ^ "huia". The Chambers Dictionary (9th ed.). Chambers. 2003. ISBN 0-550-10105-5.
  3. ^ Wood, Caroline (18 January 2017). "Hunting the last huia". Forest and Bird. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference FGBNZ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tennyson, Martinson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).