Various patterns

Various patterns and colour also signified class and lineage. The famous yellow cape of King Kamehameha, who ruled Hawaii until 1819, was made from the most prestigious feather colour. It took around 450,000 of these rare yellow feathers (taken from the Big Island's now-extinct o make up the cape. Skilled catchers caught the birds, removed the needed feathers, treated the birds with salve to heal and then released them.