Taxidermied huia sell for over $460k at British auction

The male and female huia were sold at auction. Photo / Supplied

A pair of rare, stuffed New Zealand birds have sold at a British auction for a price that soared well beyond the estimate.

The male and female huia - a species that is now extinct - went under the hammer at a natural history taxidermy sale run by Tennants Auctioneers.

They were presented in a glass case, perched on a branch and surrounded by hummingbirds, rocks and foliage.

The specimen was expected to sell for between £15,000 and £25,000, but fetched £220,000 - around $466,000 - excluding the buyer’s premium.

The auction was controversial and sparked calls for the New Zealand Government to step in.

Dame Naida Glavish wanted the Government or New Zealand museums to buy the stuffed huia. Photo / NZME

Dame Naida Glavish hoped the Government would buy the birds and return them to New Zealand.

“I would also ask the museums in Aotearoa New Zealand, like Te Papa, work together to repatriate these unique birds home,” Glavish told the Herald last month.

She also believed the English whānau who were selling the huia should do the right thing and gift them back to New Zealand.

“It actually should be given back because that taonga belongs to all of Aotearoa,” she said.

But Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni said that was not something the Government were looking to do.

It was not known who bought the huia.