17 Nov 2024

Rare bird feathers sell for more than $10,000 each

8:45 pm on 17 November 2024
A huia feather up for auction by Webb's.

A huia feather up for auction by Webb's. Photo: Supplied / Webb's Auction House

Three special feathers have been sold at an auction in Auckland today for more than $10,000 each.

Webb's head of decorative arts, Leah Morris said one rare huia feather sold for $19,000, another went under the hammer for thirteen thousand and the third for $10,000.

Morris said a buyer is still negotiating over the sale of a fourth feather and a fifth was sold privately for $5000.

Interest in the extinct native bird's feathers has soared since a single feather sold at Webb's earlier this year for a record $46,521 - making the feather the most expensive in the world, and more expensive than gold.

A painting of two Huia birds

The huia is now extinct. The last confirmed sighting was in 1907. Photo: