Animal Fact Sheets
Kiwi (Apteryx australis, Apteryx haastii, Apteryx mantelli and Apteryx owenii)

The Special Kiwi look - A nose at the end of the beak!

Most birds have their nostrils at the top of the beak by the head. The kiwi is the only bird with nostrils at the other end - this helps them find their food by both smell and touch. They can bury their bill completely into earth and still sniff out food. Special valves in the bill stop the dirt going up the nose. Excellent hearing ear openings are large and the kiwi can be seen cocking its head to hear soft or distant noises.

Whiskers at the top of the bill are useful in detecting objects close at hand.

The Kiwi is named after the sound of its call.

Kiwis are territorial and will fight to defend their territories. It uses its bill to hold on its opponent and its strong feet and claws to strike viciously. The feet and claws are covered with hard scales. Kiwis are very agile and fast moving. A bird's territory ((home area) might be as large as 60 rugby fields and it could cover that in one night.

Breeding
The very large egg (up to a quarter of the hen's body weight) takes about 70-80 days to hatch. Sometimes two eggs are laid with about 22 days between each. The male incubates the eggs.

When the chick hatches, it lives off the remains of the yolk sac for the fist few days. After this it is capable of looking after itself in the bush but will not leave the nest for some time.

Habitat
Kiwis live in damp dense native forests and shrubland. The Kiwi is nocturnal and sleeps during the day in burrows or hollow logs.

Diet
Kiwis are omnivorous - they eat insects, grubs, worms, berries fruit. They find their food by smell not sight.

Taxonomy
There are four species of kiwi. Two of these species contain two different sub-species:

1.  Brown Kiwi

a) North Island Brown Kiwi Apeteryx mantelli

• Spiky brown plumage streaked with black and dark brown
• Medium size found only in the upper two thirds of the North Island, New Zealand
• Tough little birds to survive against humans and introduced predators
• An estimated 35,000 birds remain.
  

b) Okarito Brown Kiwi Apteryx mantelli

• Only identified as a distinct sub-species in 1993.
• Found in lowland forest north of Franz Josef.
• Close relative to N.I.Brown but slightly more greyish plumage
• Sometimes accompanied by white facial feathers. Numbers around 140 birds.

2. Little Spotted Kiwi Apteryx owenii

• Mottled speckled brown plumage
• Smallest of the kiwis and the most endangered . Now extinct on the mainland. A healthy group surviving on predator-free Kapiti Island.

 3. Great Spotted Kiwi Apteryx haastii

• Similar to Little Spotted Kiwi but with distinct chestnut tinge on back.
• Largest of the kiwis Living in N.W. Nelson, the northern West Coast and the Southern Alps between Arthur’s Pass at high altitude (New Zealand)
• Such an environment is more difficult for predators. Estimated 10,000 pairs surviving.

4. Tokoeka

a) Haast Tokoeka Apteryx australis

• Identified as a distinct sub-species in 1993.
• Lives in the south-west of New Zealand.
• Some of these kiwis spend the whole year in sub-alpine grasslands, even though most of area is snow-covered in winter.

b) Southern Tokoeka Apteryx australis

• Squat and round and bigger than the NI.Brown they can grow almost as big as the Great Spotted Kiwi.
• Southern Tokoeka live in Fiordland and on Stewart Island which has fewer predators.
• There is estimated to be around 27,000 in the wild.

Preservation and Conservation

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