Kiwi
Native birds
Everyone recognises the pear-shaped kiwi logo as a symbol of New Zealand. The kiwi is a beloved national
taonga (treasure) with special significance for Mäori. Sadly, few New Zealanders have had the chance to see this
remarkable bird in the wild.
No ordinary bird
In other places, the ecological role of the kiwi would be
played by an anteater, hedgehog or echidna. In fact
the kiwi is so unlike any other bird that Stephen Jay
Gould referred to it as an ‘honorary mammal’. What
makes it so unusual?
Great spotted kiwi/roroa
R. Morris
or more. The kiwi is a mammal-like 38ºC.
•
The eye sockets of most birds are separated by a
plate: the kiwi’s, like a mammal’s, are divided by
nasal cavities.
•
Most birds have tiny, hidden ear openings: The kiwi
has large, visible ear-openings and an excellent
sense of hearing.
•
It is the only bird to have nostrils at the tip of its bill
and has a highly developed sense of smell.
•
•
Instead of the light and hollow bones of most
birds, the kiwi has heavy, marrow-filled bones like a
mammal.
Most birds have only one functional ovary: The kiwi
has two. If a female kiwi produces more than one
egg in a clutch, it ovulates in alternate ovaries.
•
It cannot fly and has a cat-like claw at the tip of
each tiny wing.
•
It builds a burrow to nest in and lays one of the
largest eggs, in proportion to its bodyweight, of
any bird: 15–25% compared to an egg 2% of its
bodyweight for an ostrich.
• The blood-temperature of most birds is 40ºC
• The kiwi is largely nocturnal, has tough skin,
shaggy, hair-like feathers and cat-like whiskers. Not
bad for a bird.
Kiwi are related to the ostrich of Africa, the emu and
cassowary of Australia, the rhea of South America,
and the extinct moa of New Zealand. All of these birds
belong to a group known as the ratites. Kiwi live in
pairs and mate for life, sometimes for over 50 years.
Most kiwi emerge at night, when they probe and sniff
out underground insects, grubs and worms with their
long beaks.
Which kiwi lives where?
There are five species of kiwi, although through DNA
testing scientists may differentiate them further:
RD&I Wellington
Published by
Department of Conservation
Christchurch
2006
NS0074
•
The brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) is widespread in
the central and northern North Island. It has redbrown to dark brown plumage and stands about
40 cm high.
•
The kiwi pukupuku or little spotted kiwi (Apteryx
owenii) is the smallest kiwi, with fine, grey
plumage. The 1.35-kg female lays a whopping
300-gram egg. Little spotted kiwi survive mainly on
Kapiti Island, with smaller populations on Hen and
Tiritiri Matangi islands (Hauraki Gulf), Red Mercury
and Long islands (Marlborough Sounds) and at
Karori Sanctuary (Wellington).
• Roroa or great spotted kiwi (Apteryx haastii) inhabit
higher-altitude tussock and wet forest between
Kuhurangi National Park and the Paparoa Range
and across to Arthurs Pass. At 45 cm high and
weighing up to 3.3 kg, roroa are the largest kiwi
species.
•
Nostrils at tip of kiwi bill
C. Smuts-Kennedy
Rowi or Okarito brown kiwi (Apteryx rowi) are one
of two critically endangered kiwi species. They live
in the Okarito Forest from Lake Mapourika (near
Franz Josef) to the coast.
• Tokoeka, sometimes translated as ‘weka
(woodhen) with a walking stick’, are divided
into four distinct populations: Haast tokoeka,
Apteryx australis ‘Haast’, live in a small area of
South Westland centred on the Haast Range.
There are two distinct varieties of the Fiordland
tokoeka, Apteryx australis ‘Fiordland’, in broad
terms north and south of Wilmot Pass. Stewart
Island tokoeka, Apteryx australis ‘Rakiura-Stewart
Island’, live throughout Stewart Island, where they
can sometimes be seen
foraging in the daytime
Stewart Island kiwi
J. L. Kendrick
Kahukiwi
Mäori hunted kiwi for its
meat, feathers and skin,
but did so sparingly and
with great ritual. Kiwi are
known as te manu huna a
Täne or ‘the hidden bird of
Täne’, a reference to their
protected status under
Täne Mahuta, guardian
spirit of the forest. Eating
kiwi meat and wearing
the special kahukiwi (kiwi
feather cloak) was the
preserve of chiefs. To make
kahukiwi, feather-shafts
were woven into the harakeke (flax) of the cloak during
construction. At significant events, the kahukiwi is
drawn over the shoulders as a privileged symbol of
chieftainship and high birth. Today only the feathers of
kiwi that have been found dead are used to create the
prized kahukiwi.
Kiwi in crisis
The kiwi once lived throughout New Zealand and
numbered in the millions. Since European settlement
their numbers have plummeted. Surveys on mainland
New Zealand during the 1990s showed kiwi numbers
falling by an alarming 4% each year: each decade,
kiwi numbers drop by a third in areas where predators
are not controlled.
Kiwi face one main threat: introduced predators.
Stoats, dogs, cats and ferrets are their worst enemies.
Without management, nearly 90%of kiwi chicks die
before they are six months old, while adults are often
killed by ferrets and dogs. By 2006 there were about
70,000 kiwi left. If the present rate of decline continues,
most kiwi species will be extinct on the mainland
within a human lifetime and their future will depend on
predator-free offshore islands.
What is DOC doing?
The Department of Conservation (DOC) strategy to
preserve the kiwi is fourfold:
•
To protect nests and kiwi of all ages in the wild
from predators;
•
To raise chicks in captivity and release them into
the wild when they are able to defend themselves
from stoats and cats (a project called Operation
Nest Egg);
•
To research kiwi genetics, breeding and habitat
requirements; and
•
To enlist community support, especially in areas
where kiwi are still found on private land.
DOC has established kiwi sanctuaries on the mainland
in Northland, Coromandel, Tongariro, Okarito, and at
Haast. Predators in these sanctuaries are intensively
controlled to protect kiwi. The Department of
Conservation acknowledges the support of the Bank
of New Zealand in helping to fund the Kiwi Recovery
Programme since 1991. In November 2002 the Bank
of New Zealand Save The Kiwi Trust was set up in
partnership with DOC to strengthen the funds and
resources available to protect kiwi.
Seeing kiwi
Due to their nocturnal behaviour kiwi are hard to
see. Even if you do look for them, it’s hard to do so
without disturbing their hunt for food. If you see a
kiwi, please respect its right to the forest, and keep
your disturbance to a minimum by standing still
and keeping quiet. You can see kiwi in nocturnal
houses throughout NZ and a small number of guided
tours regularly watch kiwi. For details contact the
tourist information bureau or visit the website www.
savethekiwi.org.nz.
What can you do to help?
A very effective way to help the kiwi is to make a
donation through the kiwi recovery website (see
below). You could also learn to recognise a kiwi call
and report any calls you hear to the Department of
Conservation. Keep pet cats and dogs out of kiwi
habitat and if you like being ‘hands on’, volunteer to
support a local kiwi project.
More information
For more information, please visit the kiwi recovery
website www.savethekiwi.org.nz or www.doc.govt.nz.