Many people around the world might assume that the most expensive items are newly invented stuff or modern things. You’ll be impressed to know that today, some of the most expensive and treasured items could be regarded as “Old Fashioned,” as one of them is the feather. It was the feather of the Huia bird, a now-extinct bird, was considered the planet’s most precious feather. The most expensive feather probably came from a bird that’s already gone extinct.
About Huia bird
The Huia is one of the most prominent extinct birds in New Zealand due to its bill shape, its sheer beauty, and its unique place in the Maori community. The male and female Huia use their beak to feed in many ways: the thicker, more flexible female bill was able to search deeper areas while the males used their bill to chisel off decaying wood.
The Maori treasured Huia, and it was kept as a pet. The Maori regard Huia as precious. Those who wore Huai’s skin or feather were considered as high-status people, and great respect was given to them.
Reasons for extinction
There were two main reasons for its extinction:
- The first was systematic overhunting to provide mounted specimens with Huia skins, and their tail feathers for hat decorations.
- The second major factor was the extensive deforestation by European settlers of the North Island lowlands to establish land for agriculture.
The price tag
A Huia bird feather is the most expensive thing in the world and sold most recently at an auction in New Zealand for a record of US $10,000. The absurd price is because this bird is extinct. It is said to be extinct during the early 1900s.
What makes Huia feathers so expensive?
New Zealand bird Huia’s feathers traditionally represent friendship and respect, but this is not the reason why it was so expensive. Owing to hunting and habitat loss, the Huia has been extinct bird for over a hundred years. Combined with their uniqueness and rareness of the Huia feathers contributed to the price to increase.
Who bought this feather?
A family from the town of Wellington bought the Huia feather, who declined to be named. The family holds a vast collection of Maori items.
Winding up
Generally, items that are highly valued are not easily found. Given how long the Huia bird has lived and when the bird became extinct, it is evident that the person owning the feather has something precious with them.
