Facts About The New Zealand Kiwi

The Kiwi is a strange bird, in fact when the first English explorers described it to people in England, they were not believed. A live one had to be taken to England before people would believe such a weird bird existed.

Here is a list of facts that not many people know about the Kiwi.

The Kiwi's name doesnt come from its call, but from the Polynesian name for the Bristled- Thighed Curlew, the Kivi.This bird has the same way of feeding as the Kiwi, by poking it's long beak into soft ground.
It has very strong legs for burrowing and ripping apart rotton logs.

kiwi foot

The Kiwi cannot fly, and lives in burrows on the ground.
Its diet is mainly worms, spiders, bugs, grubs and fruit.
Kiwi's mate for life, some have been together for 30 years.
A Kiwi's egg is large compared with the size of its body (An egg averages 20% of the females weight, compared to 2% for an Ostrich).
The female is larger than the male. In some varieties the males are the ones that sit on the egg.
It is the only known bird to have external nostrils at the end of its beak, and one of the few birds to have a good sence of smell. At night a Kiwi can often be heard making snuffling noises, which is caused by the bird trying to clear dirt out of its nostrils when it is searching for food.

kiwi beak showing breathing holes

The Kiwi is the smallest member of the family of birds called Ratities. This group includes some of the worlds biggest birds like the Emu, Ostrich, as well the extinct Moa and the Elephant Birds of Madagascar.
It has an average body temperature of 38 degrees C, which is 2 degrees lower than other birds and two degrees higher than humans.

Back to top

Links to More Information
Kiwi Recovery Organisation
learnz