Extinct New Zealand bird’s feather sold ‘more valuable than gold’ at auction

London: The feather of the extinct New Zealand huia bird was sold at an eye-watering NZD$46,521 (US$28,365), far exceeding the value of gold, The Guardian reported.

The rare feather has now become the world’s most expensive of its kind ever sold at an auction.

The sale on Monday broke the previous record price of another huia feather sold in 2010 for $8,400.

This time round the hammer price outshined initial estimates of between $2,000-$3,000.

As per Gold Brokers figures, the feather weighing 9 grams became ‘vastly more valuable than gold’.

The huia, belonging to New Zealand’s wattlebird species, is known for its ‘black glossy feathers and long tail feathers tipped with white’.

Though they were believed to have been still alive into 1920, the last confirmed sighting of huia was in 1907.

The feathers of huia, the sacred bird of Māori that featured in songs and sayings, were reserved for ‘rangatira (chiefs) and people with mana (prestige)’.

The birds were already rare when the Europeans arrived in New Zealand and their subsequent craze for the feather led to the bird’s extinction.

The craze for owning the feathers is still raging internationally as the auction shows.

A pair of stuffed huia sold at a British auction for NZD$466,000 in 2023.

There were calls for the New Zealand government to intervene and bring them home.

Leah Morris, the head of decorative arts at Auckland-based Webb’s auction house, reportedly said “The huia is such an iconic bird and a lot of people really relate to the bird in some way.”

Though bids were taking place via phone or online, there were 30 people present at the auction. As the price began to go up, people reportedly watched ‘with bated breath’ according to Morris.