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.
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.
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.
