Kiwis are birds found only in New Zealand and some of the small adjacent islands. Nowadays they are a protected species since their numbers have been declining rapidly, especially in the last 50 years. There are four species of kiwi, with six varieties.
Rare
Kiwis:
Okarito
Brown Kiwi Apteryx mantelli (140 remaining)
Haast
Tokoeka Apteryx australis
(200 - 300 remaining)
Little
Spotted Kiwi Apteryx owenii
(1000 remaining)
More
common kiwis:
Great
Spotted Kiwi Apteryx haastii
(20,000 remaining)
Southern
Tokoeka Apteryx australis
(27,000 remaining)
North
Island Brown Kiwi Apteryx mantelli (35,000 remaining)
Kiwis belong to the Ratites group of birds, which includes the emu, ostrich and rhea. Like their relatives, kiwis can't fly. They have chunky bodies, short powerful legs and three front toes with sharp claws. Their eyes are tiny, with poor vision. Kiwis have many characteristics that set them apart from any other bird:
* Kiwis are the only birds that have nostrils at the tip of their bills, which they use to search out their food by scent. They stab their long flexible beak into the ground to find earthworms and other grubs. They will sometimes also eat seeds and berries.
*
They have long whiskers
and loose hair-like feathers
which gives them a shaggy appearance.
* Kiwis lay large
eggs that are about 1/4 of the body mass of
the female. To accommodate the size of the egg, female kiwis are
larger than the male of the same species. Incubation of is carried out
mostly by the male. Here is an x-ray picture of a female kiwi with the
egg inside it.
New Zealand's ancient isolation from other land masses and lack of mammals allowed the kiwi to occupy a habitat and lifestyle that is occupied by mammals anywhere else in the world. When the first specimen kiwi skin arrived in England around 1811, it was considered a hoax because it was unlike any other known bird.
It was estimated that 1200 years ago there would have been about 12 million kiwi in New Zealand, about 100 birds per square kilometre. But the arrival of first the Maoris and then the Europeans, caused a decline in kiwi numbers as they were hunted for food and for their feathers. Introduced mammals such as rats, stoats, ferrets,
weasels
and dogs can also kill kiwis. The kiwi is declining at a rate of 5.8%,
meaning the number of kiwi left halves every 10 years. Today, all species
of kiwi are protected. Click on the logo to your right to learn more about
kiwis and the Kiwi Recovery Programme.
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