As of 2019, the feather of which bird is considered the most expensive feather in history?

A single plume from the extinct huia bird has sold for a record sum at auction in New Zealand in 2010.

It is considered the most expensive feather that has ever been purchased. This Huia bird’s feather was bought at a price tag of $10,000. The previous record price for a single feather was $US2,800 (NZ$4,000) achieved by a bald eagle feather at auction in the United States.

The feather has a rich history as it was used as an ornament by some ancient tribes.

The huia is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there were credible sightings as late as the early 1960s.

Its extinction had two primary causes. The first was rampant overhunting to procure huia skins for mounted specimens and their tail feathers for hat decorations. The second major cause was the widespread deforestation of the lowlands of the North Island by European settlers to create pasture for agriculture. Most of these forests were ancient, ecologically complex primary forests, and huia were unable to survive in regenerating secondary forests.