The Kiwi - National symbol of New Zealand

The Kiwi is the smallest flightless bird and can only be
seen in New Zealand. It is from the genus Apteryx and the
family Apterygidae. The Kiwi is around the size of a
domestic chicken and lays the largest egg of any bird in
relation to its body size. The Kiwi is endangered and all
five species that have been recognized are on the endangered
list.

Kiwis are usually nocturnal and very shy. The reason why
they are nocturnal is unknown but it is suspected that this
is the result of habitat intrusion from humans and predators
because where Kiwis are protected in a sanctuary from which
all predators have been removed the Kiwi will often be seen
during daylight hours.

Kiwis prefer to live in beech forests, temperate podocarp
and subtropical regions. But because of encroachment from
humans and predators they are now being forced to live in
tussock grassland, mountainous regions and sub-alpine scrub.

Kiwis are an unusual bird. They have a highly developed
sense of smell and nostrils at the end of their long beaks.
The nostrils at the end of the beak allow Kiwis to smell out
insects and worms under the ground without feeling or seeing
them.

Kiwis eat grubs, seeds, small invertebrates and all kinds of
worms. They may also eat amphibians, eels, fruit and small
crayfish.

Kiwis are usually monogamous once they have bonded. During
Kiwi mating season, which is from June to March, the pair
will call out to each other all night long. They meet at the
nesting burrow every three days and the relationships
between the bonded pair can last up to twenty years.

The female Kiwi has a functional pair of ovaries that is
unique among birds. Kiwi eggs usually weigh one quarter of
the weight of the female bird. One egg is usually laid per
season. Even though the Kiwi is about the size of the
domestic chicken they lay an egg six times the size of a
chicken egg.

Kiwi eggs are smooth in texture and a greenish white or
ivory in color. It is the male that sits on the egg except
in the case of the Great Spotted Kiwi, where both parents
are involved in the incubation. Incubation lasts sixty-three
to ninety-two days.

The female Kiwi, while developing the egg inside of her,
eats three times the amount she usually eats. Two to three
days before the egg is laid there is little space left
inside the female for her stomach so she is forced to fast.

The Kiwi is also the national symbol for New Zealand and New
Zealanders are often called Kiwis.



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Very handsome plush Emu, another flightless bird