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Kiwi

Apteryx sp.


Where is it found?

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Species dependent but can be found in the forests, grasslands, scrubland and mountains of New Zealand.

Diet and foraging method

Eats meat and plants
Uses it's bill to probe soil, leaf litter and sand looking for prey and seeds.
Eats insects
Eats worms
Eats seeds

Key adaptations

Long slender bill for searching for food in the ground.
External nostrils at the end of its beak for sensing (vibrations and smell) prey. As a consequence, individuals have to snuffle and snort dirt from their nostrils.

Social organisation and mating system

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Live in family groups
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Breeding pairs may remain together for up to 20 years.

Did you know that...?

They lay huge eggs!
Kiwi eggs are six times as big as normal for a bird of its size and the eggs take up a whooping 20% of the mother's body - an Ostrich egg is only 2% of the mother's body mass!

Taxonomy

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Sources

https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/about-kiwi/kiwi-facts-characteristics/enormous-egg/
http://www.arkive.org/tokoeka/apteryx-australis/
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22678122
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_brown_kiwi 
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
Northern island Brown Kiwi: "Apteryx mantelli -Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand-8a" by The.Rohit - Elusive KiwiUploaded by Snowmanradio. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apteryx_mantelli_-Rotorua,_North_Island,_New_Zealand-8a.jpg#/media/File:Apteryx_mantelli_-Rotorua,_North_Island,_New_Zealand-8a.jpg
Southern Brown Kiwi: "Kiwi and egg Picturesque New Zealand 1913" by Josiah Martin - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Picturesque_New_Zealand%2C_1913.djvu/page409-495px-Picturesque_New_Zealand%2C_1913.djvu.jpg. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kiwi_and_egg_Picturesque_New_Zealand_1913.jpg#/media/File:Kiwi_and_egg_Picturesque_New_Zealand_1913.jpg
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