Huia St

We live on Huia St, and I just learned what a huia is (or was). It used to be a very popular and sacred bird among the Maori people, where only the most prestigious chiefs were allowed to wear their feathers and skin. Unfortunately, they were admired into extinction about a century ago, but there are still some of their relatives around and I'll keep my eyes out for them.

The painting to the right shows the different male (front) and female beaks. One was better at chiseling away tree bark to get at insects and spiders, but the female was better at boring into deeper holes to get at them. Other than that, they looked very similar to each other.




Also, to get to our street, you have to turn off the main road onto Moa street. A moa used to be a very impressive wingless bird, that looked like a huge emu, standing up to 12 feet tall and weighing up to 510 lbs. At the Auckland Museum, I was just as impressed with the moa skeleton as I was with the dinosaur skeletons. I guess they were pretty easy to catch and pretty yummy, and they were hunted into extinction around 1500 AD.











Also, to get to our street, you have to turn left onto Kiwi St. The kiwi, I am happy to report, is alive and well.