Kiwis
- Kiwis are endemic to New Zealand and are the country's national bird. These flightless birds have tiny vestigial wings. They are strictly nocturnal birds that forage on the forest floor using their long, narrow bill to probe the soil for small animals such as grubs and earthworms. Their nostrils are positioned at the tip of their bill enabling them to hunt using their acute sense of smell. Kiwis have coarse brown plumage that resembles fur more than feathers (although it is indeed feathers, not fur).
- Kiwis are monogamous birds. The female lays her eggs in a burrow-like nest and the male incubates the eggs for an incubation period of about 70 days. After hatching, the yolk sac remains attached to the young bird and nourishes it for the first week of its life. After that, the kiwi sets out from the nest to hunt for its own food. This is when the kiwi is most vulnerable to the many mammal predators that have been introduced by humans to New Zealand.
- Classification:
- Experts disagree on the exact number of species that belong to this group of birds. Some suggest there are three species which include the brown kiwi, great spotted kiwi and little spotted kiwi.
Kiwis