The skeletons of what is believed to have been a family of five moa have been unearthed in a hidden cave on the outskirts of Whangarei.
It is believed the extinct birds' remains have been there for more than two thousand years.
Two years ago, Ian Calder first stumbled across the narrow gap in the ground under some rocks about three or four metres deep on his 20-hectare lifestyle block at Whareora.
However, it wasn't until recently that he shifted the rocks and found a small bone which he initially thought was from a human.
He rushed home to tell his wife, cleaned the dirt off it and hopped online.
