Into the stratosphere! Winning auction bid for pair of extinct New Zealand birds was . . . £220,000!

Distinguished by bill shape and size - the female is on the right

BIDDING went through the roof when a cased pair of  extinct New Zealand huia came up for sale at an auction in Yorkshire.

The species is extinct  partly because of the activities of trappers who caught  birds such as  these to be stuffed and displayed in glass cases.

There are also  three hummingbirds within the display.

The last confirmed sighting of a huia is believed to have been  in 1907 although there is said to have been a credible glimpse in 1924.

At the saleroom of  auctioneers Tennants of Leyburn, the pre-sale estimate was that the birds - Lot 352 - would fetch between £15,000 and £25,000.

In the event, the price had reached an eye-watering £220,000 - with bids from around the world - before the hammer fell.

The identity of the successful bidder has not been revealed.

At the same sale, many of the other taxidermy achieved prices at the lower end of estimates or did not sell at all.