Huia, a lost treasure

whanganuiregionalmuseum

In the Whanganui Regional Museum collection is a rare and precious recording of a huia call, a bird that was last seen alive in the early 1900s. The recording is actually a man whistling, imitating the hauntingly beautiful sounds made by the bird. It forms part of a significant collection of huia-related taonga, including taxidermied specimens, huia beak jewellery and feathers, paintings and photographs of people wearing huia feathers in their hair and a wide variety of artefacts depicting huia.

The huia (Heteralocha acutirostris) was endemic to New Zealand and lived in forested mountain ranges of the central and lower North Island. The last official sighting of a huia was made in 1907, though some birds may have survived until the 1920s or even later. Everything we know about this precious species is pieced together from observations made a long time ago and from preserved specimens held in museums.

Pair…

View original post 411 more words

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes