Facts about kiwi
BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust website:
The kiwi is a curious bird, it cannot fly, has loose, hair-like feathers and long whiskers. Largely nocturnal, it burrows in the ground, is the only bird known to have nostrils at the end of its very long bill and literally sniffs out food which includes soil invertebrates and fruit. It also has one of the largest egg-to-body weight ratios of any bird - the egg averages 15 per cent of the female's body weight (compared to two per cent for the ostrich).
Stewart Island brown kiwi
Females are larger than males and the male brown kiwi does most of the egg incubating. Chicks hatch fully feathered after 70-85 days incubation and are largely independent from their parents at a few weeks of age. Kiwi pair bond and usually mate for life. They are long lived, sometimes living for up to 50 years. One south island species (the rowi) may live for up to 100 years.
The kiwi is related to a group of birds called ratites. This group includes the ostrich of Africa, the emu of Australia and the now-extinct moa of New Zealand. There are five species of kiwi:
- brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)
- rowi (Apteryx rowi)
- tokoeka (Apteryx australis)
- great spotted kiwi or roroa (Apteryx haasti)
- little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii)
The brown kiwi and tokoeka are further divided into four genetically distinct groups or taxa (singular: taxon): the Northland, Coromandel, western and the eastern brown kiwi; and the Haast tokoeka, the northern Fiordland tokoeka, the southern Fiordland tokoeka and the Stewart Island tokoeka.
All kiwi are threatened with extinction, and several kiwi are critically threatened. The rowi and the Haast tokoeka are our most threatened kiwi. The brown kiwi, great spotted kiwi, and the Fiordland and Stewart Island forms of tokoeka are Nationally Vulnerable, the third highest threat ranking in New Zealand, and the little spotted kiwi is classified as At Risk (recovering).
The rate of decline for kiwi populations not part of conservation programmes is estimated to be 2% to 3% per year. In 2008, the number of kiwi remaining was estimated to be approximately 72,600. This number is estimated to decline to approximately 63,500 kiwi by 2018 despite intensive conservation management planned for many, but not all, populations.
However, not all kiwi are predicted to decline over this time period. Little spotted kiwi are predicted to remain stable; the Northland and Coromandel brown kiwi, rowi, and haast tokoeka populations are predicted to increase. Other kiwi are however predicted to continue to decline over the next 10 years.
Kiwi were once more abundant and widely distributed throughout New Zealand than they are today. Of our most threatened kiwi, the rowi and Haast tokoeka, only 350 of each of these kiwi remain. They are found in two separate regions of the West Coast of the South Island: the rowi at Okarito and the Haast tokoeka in the Haast Range.
Approximately 25,000 brown kiwi remain in geographically separated populations in central and northern areas of the North Island.
The great spotted kiwi numbers approximately 16,000 birds and is found in north western areas of the South Island and the Southern Alps in Arthurs Pass.
There are approximately 4,500 Southern Fiordland tokoeka, 10,000 Northern Fiordland tokoeka and 15,000 Stewart Island tokoeka remaining.
Little spotted kiwi number approximately 1600 and are found on seven predator-free islands and one predator-fenced site in Wellington.
For more information please refer to the following journal article:
Conservation status of New Zealand birds, 2008. Notornis 55: 117-135 (PDF, 780K)
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