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The rare reversed sexual bill dimorphism of the extinct New Zealand endemic bird species, the huia (Heteralocha acutirostris: Callaeidae) occurs in two Australian riflebird (Ptiloris) and three New Guinea sicklebill (Epimachus [Drepanornis]) birds of paradise (Paradisaeidae). While less extreme than that of the huia, the female bill length proportionate to tarsus length is 7-18% longer than in males. In this proportionate bill length, females are longer-billed than males in most typical (polygynous) birds of paradise. More marked examples of reversed sexual hill dimorphism in the Paradisaeidae occur in species with greater proportions of wood-dwelling arthropods in their diets. Ecological studies of these species might provide insights into the way huia lived and how their bill dimorphism evolved.