Kiwi – Saving New Zealand’s National Bird

North Island Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)

The Kiwi are species of flightless birds that are endemic to New Zealand.  This is the national bird of New Zealand and all five species of kiwi are endangered.  The North Island Brown Kiwi shown above is the most common of the kiwi.  They stand about 16 inches high and the females weigh about 6 pounds, the males nearly 5 pounds.

Kiwi are shy and usually nocturnal.  They have a highly developed sense of smell which is unusual in the world of birds and they are the only birds with nostrils at the end of their long bill.  This makes it easier for them to find their prey of small invertebrates, seeds, grubs and worms.

I’m writing this to highlight the celebration of the 1000th Operation Nest Egg chick that hatched out February 17th at the Kiwi Encounter in Rotorua, New Zealand.  These birds have been driven to extinction by several factors including loss of habitat, predation by non-native species introduced to New Zealand and human habitation over the past centuries.  Operation Nest Egg is a huge effort undertaken by the New Zealand government and non-profit and community groups to save these endagered birds.

If you want to learn more about how you can help save these endangered species of New Zealand go here: Save the Kiwi .  If you want to read more about this interesting flightless bird, check out this blog: Saving New Zealand’s National Bird