The Kiwi

The kiwi is an amazing flightless bird, which has many distinct attributes. They are about the size of a chicken, have thick leather skin, a great sense of smell, a long beak with nostrils on the end, and hair-like feathers. All of these attributes make it very unlike a bird, and more like a mammal - however it is still a bird.

During mating season, the male kiwi makes a call that goes "kiiwii". This is how they got their name. The word kiwi is a Maori word, New Zealand's native language.

Amazing Fact: The kiwi is related to the ostrich and the emu!

The kiwi has little predators, due to New Zealand being almost mammal-free! Its predators are introduced species such as stoats and wild dogs.

Amazing Fact: The kiwi has nostrils at the end of its beak.

The kiwi is New Zealand's famous bird. It is the icon and conveys New Zealand to the world. New Zealanders are also known as 'Kiwis'. The name has been around since the First World War, when Australian soldiers gave the nickname Kiwi.

The kiwi is an endangered species, and disappearing at a rate of 5.9% per year. There are now many steps which have been put in place to protect the species. One of these is the Kiwi Recovery Program (see link below) at the Bank of New Zealand.

The kiwi is also a mainly nocturnal bird, which again is unlike most birds. They are omnivores, therefore eating both meat and vegetable matter. They feed on many insects, such as earthworms, crickets, slugs, snails, etcetera. They will also eat seeds, berries, leaves and etcetera. They do most of their feeding at night.

One of the most amazing facts about the kiwi is the size of its egg. They lay eggs that are between 15% to 20% of their body weight. The egg is almost as big as those of ostriches. The benefit of this, is the newborn comes up feathered and independent.

The kiwi breeds between June and March, and the male will then incubate the egg, for a period of up to 80 days. A newborn kiwi is born, and is quite large for a chick due to the large size of the egg.

Further Information on the Kiwi:

Kiwi Recovery Program

E-mail info@newzealandfauna.com to add your kiwi related website.