- This is an excerpt from an original 1948 recording narrated by Robert A.L. Batley (Pākehā). It is of Henare Hamana (Ngāti Awa), an expert Huia imitator, whistling phrases of a male and female Huia talking to one another while they forage. Huia are endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand. At the time of the recording these songbirds were, by many, already “believed extinct.” Julianne Warren edited out the English-language narration. What you hear in this audio version, although still shaped by those words, is only the whistled phrases. Audio restoration is by Joe Shepard. With special thanks to Hamana’s relations, Toby and Jane Salmon and Dave and Karen Salmon, for continuing support. The original recording is sourced from Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Human Imitation of Huia,” ML16209, William V. Ward, contributor. With thanks, also, to Matthew Young, Macaulay’s collections management leader, for his expert assistance.
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