The man who stole the huia from the Dannevirke Gallery of History crossed the line, says local kaumatua Manahi Paewai.
He said the man who committed the theft to pay off a drug debt did it for very selfish reasons.
The theft was in July last year and the museum is pleading for the bird's safe return, even suggesting it could be left on the doorstep, no questions asked.
The male and female huia were preserved and given to the Dannevirke Gallery of History in 1990 by the descendents of the original owner, Caroline.
They were actually given in 1892 to Caroline by her father as a wedding present.