11 May 2016

Sound archives - the huia

From Afternoons, 1:40 pm on 11 May 2016

If you have been to see Taika Waititi's film ""The Hunt for the Wilderpeople" you will remember the two main characters discover the long-believed-extinct huia bird, while they are deep in the bush.

In real life, the last authenticated sighting of a huia was in 1907 in the Tararua Ranges north of Wellington.  

The Sound archives of Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision hold recordings about the huia, including eye witness descriptions and a re-creation of the bird's call.

Sarah Johnston talks to us about them.
 

the Huia

Artists' impression of a female huia. , April 2016. Image © John and Melody Anderson, www.wayfarerimages.co.nz Photo: © John and Melody Anderson