Kiwi (bird)

{{Short description|Order of birds}} {{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=March 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{Geological range|Miocene|Recent}} | image = TeTuatahianui.jpg | image_caption = North Island brown kiwi (''Apteryx mantelli'') | display_parents = 3 | grandparent_authority = Haeckel, 1866 | parent_authority = Gray, 1840<ref name="SN">{{cite web |url=http://www.taxonomy.nl/Main/Classification/51305.htm |title=Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification, Family Apterygidae |access-date=4 February 2009 |last=Brands |first=Sheila |date=14 August 2008 |work=Project: The Taxonomicon |archive-date=5 November 2007 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071105045520/http://www.taxonomy.nl/Main/Classification/51305.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> | taxon = Apteryx | authority = Shaw, 1813<ref name="SN" /> | type_species = ''Apteryx australis'' | type_species_authority = Shaw, 1813<ref name=ICZN1916/> | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = ''Apteryx maxima'' Great spotted kiwi ''Apteryx owenii'' Little spotted kiwi ''Apteryx rowi'' Okarito brown kiwi ''Apteryx australis'' Southern brown kiwi ''Apteryx mantelli'' North Island brown kiwi †''Apteryx littoralis'' "Kiwi of the shore" | synonyms = '''''Stictapteryx''''' Iredale & Mathews, 1926 '''''Kiwi''''' Verheyen, 1960 '''''Pseudapteryx''''' Lydekker 1891 | synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web |last=Gill |first=B. J. |date=2010 |title=Checklist of the birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica |url= https://www.birdsnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Checklist-of-Birds-2010.pdf |edition=4th |publisher=Te Papa Press |page=19 |access-date=6 March 2026 }}</ref> | range_map = NZ-kiwimap 5 species.png | range_map_caption = The distribution of each species of kiwi }}

'''Kiwi'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|iː|w|i:}} {{respell|KEE|wee}}<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/kiwi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227161312/https://www.lexico.com/definition/kiwi |archive-date=27 February 2020 |title=kiwi |dictionary=Lexico UK English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>}} are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand of the order '''Apterygiformes'''. The five extant species fall into the family '''Apterygidae'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|p|t|ə|ˈ|r|ɪ|dʒ|ə|d|i:}}}} and genus '''''Apteryx'''''.{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|p|t|ər|ɪ|k|s}}}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=S.J.J.F. |year=2004 |title=Grzimek's Animal Life Ecyclopedia |edition=2nd |volume= 8: Birds |publisher=Gale |page=89}}</ref><ref name="IOU">{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/ratites/ |title=Ratites: Ostriches to tinamous |editor1-last=Gill |editor1-first=Frank |editor2-last=Donsker |editor2-first=David |editor3-last=Rasmussen |editor3-first=Pamela |year=2025 |work=World Bird List Version 15.1 |publisher=International Ornithologists' Union |access-date=May 11, 2025 }}</ref> Approximately the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are the smallest ratites (which also include ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries and the extinct elephant birds and moa).

DNA sequence comparisons have yielded the conclusion that kiwi are much more closely related to the extinct Malagasy elephant birds than to the moa with which they shared New Zealand.<ref name = "Mitchell2014" /> There are five recognised species, four of which are currently listed as vulnerable, and one of which is near threatened. All species have been negatively affected by historic deforestation, but their remaining habitat is well protected in large forest reserves and national parks. At present, the greatest threat to their survival is predation by invasive mammalian predators.

The vestigial wings are so small as to be invisible under their bristly, hair-like, two-branched feathers. Kiwi eggs are one of the largest in proportion to body size (up to 20% of the female's weight) of any order of bird in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-kiwi.html|title=Birds: Kiwi|publisher=San Diego Zoo|access-date=19 September 2008|archive-date=6 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006082245/http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-kiwi.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Other unique adaptations of kiwi, such as short and stout legs and using their nostrils at the end of their long beak to detect prey before they see it, have helped the bird to become internationally well known.

The kiwi is recognised as an icon of New Zealand, and the association is so strong that the term ''Kiwi'' is used internationally as the colloquial demonym for New Zealanders.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://glossary.immigration.govt.nz/Kiwis.htm |title=Kiwis/Kiwi – New Zealand Immigration Service (Summary of Terms) |publisher=Glossary.immigration.govt.nz |access-date=13 September 2012 |archive-date=26 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426042641/http://glossary.immigration.govt.nz/Kiwis.htm }}</ref>

== Etymology == The Māori word {{lang|mi|kiwi}} is generally accepted to be "of imitative origin" from its call.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Kiwi | title = The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language | edition = 4th | year = 2006 | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | contribution = Kiwi | access-date = 14 April 2008 | archive-date = 23 November 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071123043732/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kiwi | url-status = live }}</ref> Some linguists derive the word from Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *''kiwi'', which refers to ''Numenius tahitiensis'', the bristle-thighed curlew, a migratory bird that winters in the tropical Pacific islands<ref name="pollex">{{Citation | url = http://pollex.org.nz/entry/kiwi.1/ | title = Polynesian Lexicon Project Online | contribution = kiwi | access-date = 7 January 2011 | archive-date = 24 July 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724201015/http://pollex.org.nz/entry/kiwi.1/ | url-status = live }}</ref> that kind of resembles with its long decurved bill and brown body. So when the first Polynesian settlers arrived, they may have applied the word kiwi to the newfound bird.<ref name="savethekiwi.org.nz"/> Some linguists like Robert Blust however propose that ''kiwi'' originated from Proto-Oceanic name for the Pacific golden plover, *''kiwiwi''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://acd.clld.org/cognatesets/30926#3/-18.50/161.98|title=*kiwiwi: shore bird - sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover |last1=Blust |first1=Robert |last2=Trussel |first2=Stephen |date=2010 |website=Austronesian Comparative Dictionary |publisher=Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology |access-date=11 May 2025}}</ref>

The bird's name is usually spelled with a lower-case ''k''. It normally stays unchanged when pluralised in English, mirroring its usage in the Māori language itself. This contrasts with when kiwi is used to refer to a group of New Zealanders, which is typically pluralised as kiwis.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-03 |title=Are we a group of Kiwi, or Kiwis? |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights/audio/2018994104/are-we-a-group-of-kiwi-or-kiwis |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=RNZ |language=en-nz}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Plurals in te reo Māori|url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/about_us/what-we-do/our-publications/style-guides/style-manual/maori-language.aspx|publisher=Statistics New Zealand|access-date=17 August 2017|language=en-nz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818045202/http://www.stats.govt.nz/about_us/what-we-do/our-publications/style-guides/style-manual/maori-language.aspx|archive-date=18 August 2017}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2024}}

== Taxonomy and systematics == The genus name ''Apteryx'' is derived from Ancient Greek 'without wing': {{lang|grc-Latn|a-}} ({{lang|grc|ἀ-}}), 'without' or 'not'; {{lang|grc-Latn|ptéryx}} ({{lang|grc|πτέρυξ}}), 'wing'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gotch |first1=AF |title= Latin Names Explained. A Guide to the Scientific Classifications of Reptiles, Birds & Mammals|year= 1995 |orig-date= 1979 |publisher=Facts on File |location = London | isbn =978-0-8160-3377-5|page=179|chapter=Kiwis}}</ref>

Although it was long presumed that the kiwi was closely related to the other New Zealand ratites, the moa, recent DNA studies have identified its closest relative as the extinct elephant bird of Madagascar,<ref name = "Mitchell2014">{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1126/science.1251981| pmid = 24855267| title = Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and clarifies ratite bird evolution| journal = Science| volume = 344| issue = 6186| pages = 898–900| date = 23 May 2014| last1 = Mitchell| first1 = K. J.| last2 = Llamas| first2 = B.| last3 = Soubrier| first3 = J.| last4 = Rawlence| first4 = N. J.| last5 = Worthy| first5 = T. H.| last6 = Wood| first6 = J.| last7 = Lee| first7 = M. S. Y.| last8 = Cooper| first8 = A.| bibcode = 2014Sci...344..898M| hdl = 2328/35953| s2cid = 206555952| url = https://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/bitstream/2328/35953/1/Mitchell_AncientDNA_AM2014.pdf| hdl-access = free| access-date = 24 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Little-kiwi-huge-extinct-elephant-bird-were-birds-of-a-feather/articleshow/35496303.cms | title = Little kiwi, huge extinct elephant bird were birds of a feather | work = The Times of India | access-date = 24 May 2014 | archive-date = 4 February 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160204080827/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Little-kiwi-huge-extinct-elephant-bird-were-birds-of-a-feather/articleshow/35496303.cms | url-status = live }}</ref> and among extant ratites, the kiwi is more closely related to the emu and the cassowaries than to the moa.<ref name = "Mitchell2014" /><ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s243830.htm | title = News in Science | publisher = ABC | access-date = 4 June 2005 | archive-date = 28 July 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190728012419/http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s243830.htm | url-status = live }}</ref>

Research published in 2013 on an extinct genus, ''Proapteryx'', known from the Miocene deposits of the Saint Bathans Fauna, found that it was smaller and probably capable of flight, supporting the hypothesis that the ancestor of the kiwi reached New Zealand independently from moas, which were already large and flightless by the time kiwi appeared.<ref>{{cite web |author=New Zealand |url=http://www.canterburymuseum.com/news/76/did-small-kiwi-fly-from-australia |title=Did small kiwi fly from Australia? – Canterbury Museum – New Zealand Natural and Human Heritage. Christchurch, NZ |publisher=Canterbury Museum |access-date=30 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319191927/http://www.canterburymuseum.com/news/76/did-small-kiwi-fly-from-australia |archive-date=19 March 2014 }}</ref>

===Species=== There are five known extant species of kiwi, with a number of subspecies. One extinct species is also known.{{clade|style=font-size:100%;line-height:80% |label1= |1={{clade |label1 = |1= {{clade |1= ''A. haastii'' |2= ''A. owenii'' }} }} |2={{clade |1= ''A. australis'' |2= ''A. rowi'' |3= ''A. mantelli'' }} }}

Relationships in the genus ''Apteryx''<ref name="Little Spotted Kiwi">{{cite web|url=http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/reiland_lian/Classification.html|title=Great Spotted Kiwi Classification|work=University of Wisconsin|access-date=9 July 2008|archive-date=14 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214163126/http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/reiland_lian/Classification.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 85%;" |- ! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name !! Distribution !! Description !! Population !! IUCN Status !! Population Trend |- |120x120px |''Apteryx maxima'' or ''Apteryx haastii'' |Great spotted kiwi or roroa || New Zealand || The largest species, standing about {{convert|45|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall, with females weighing about {{convert|3.3|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and males about {{convert|2.4|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. It has grey-brown plumage with lighter bands. The female lays one egg a year, which both parents incubate. The population is estimated at over 20,000, distributed through the more mountainous parts of northwest Nelson, the northern West Coast, and the Southern Alps of the South Island.<ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Apteryx haastii'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22678132A92756666 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678132A92756666.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> |'''9,300'''<ref name='A.haastii IUCN'>{{Cite IUCN|title=Apteryx haastii|article-number=e.T22678132A214091794|last=BirdLife International|year=2022|access-date=2025-12-23|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T22678132A214091794.en}}</ref> |{{IUCN-VU}}<ref name='A.haastii IUCN'/> |align="center"|{{decrease}}<ref name='A.haastii IUCN'/> |- |alt=Apteryx owenii|120x120px||''Apteryx owenii''||Little spotted kiwi || Kapiti Island || A small kiwi the size of a bantam, standing {{convert|25|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall, with the female weighing {{convert|1.3|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. She lays one egg, which is incubated by the male. This small, docile kiwi is unable to withstand predation by introduced pigs, stoats and cats, leading to its extinction on the mainland. There are about 1350 on Kapiti Island and it has been introduced to other predator-free islands, where it appears to be getting established with about 50 on each island.<ref name=IUCN2>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Apteryx owenii'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22678129A92756395 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22678129A92756395.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> |'''1,500'''<ref name='A.owenii IUCN'>{{Cite IUCN|title=Apteryx owenii|article-number=e.T22678129A214096691|last=BirdLife International|year=2022|access-date=2025-12-23|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T22678129A214096691.en}}</ref> |{{IUCN-NT}}<ref name='A.owenii IUCN'/> |align="center"|{{increase}}<ref name='A.owenii IUCN'/> |- |120px || ''Apteryx rowi''||Okarito kiwi, rowi or Okarito brown kiwi || South Island || The Okarito kiwi, first identified as a new species in 1994,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/publications/conservation/native-animals/birds/rowi-the-rarest-of-them-all-brochure/|title=Rowi: New Zealand native land birds|publisher=New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC)|access-date=25 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219232410/http://doc.govt.nz/publications/conservation/native-animals/birds/rowi-the-rarest-of-them-all-brochure/|archive-date=19 February 2013}}</ref> is slightly smaller than the North Island brown kiwi, with a greyish tinge to the plumage and sometimes white facial feathers. Females lay up to three eggs in a season, each one in a different nest. Male and female both incubate. Distribution is now limited to a small area on the West Coast, but studies of ancient DNA have shown that, in prehuman times, it was far more widespread on the western side of the South Island and lived in the lower half of the North Island, where it was the only kiwi species detected.<ref name="Shepherd">Shepherd, L.D. & Lambert, D.M. (2008) ''Ancient DNA and conservation: lessons from the endangered kiwi of New Zealand Molecular Ecology'' '''17''', 2174–84</ref> |'''350-400'''<ref name='A.rowi IUCN'>{{Cite IUCN|title=Apteryx rowi|article-number=e.T22732871A180757495|last=BirdLife International|year=2021|access-date=2025-12-23|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22732871A180757495.en}}</ref> |{{IUCN-VU}}<ref name='A.rowi IUCN'/> |align="center"|{{increase}}<ref name='A.rowi IUCN'/> |- |120px || ''Apteryx australis''||Southern brown kiwi, tokoeka or common kiwi || South Island ||Almost as big as the great spotted kiwi and similar in appearance to the brown kiwi, though its plumage is lighter in colour. It is relatively numerous. Ancient DNA studies have shown that, in prehuman times, the distribution of this species included the east coast of the South Island.<ref name="Shepherd" /> Several subspecies are recognised: * The Stewart Island southern brown kiwi, ''Apteryx australis lawryi'', is from Stewart Island/Rakiura.<ref name="Apteryx australis brown kiwi">{{Cite web|url=http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Apteryx_australis/|title=Apteryx australis (brown kiwi)|website=Animal Diversity Web|language=en|access-date=26 March 2017|archive-date=11 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311163904/http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Apteryx_australis/|url-status=live}}</ref> * The northern Fiordland tokoeka (''Apteryx australis ?'') and southern Fiordland tokoeka (''Apteryx australis ?'') live in Fiordland, the remote southwest part of the South Island. These subspecies of tokoeka are relatively common and are nearly {{convert |40|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} * The Haast southern brown kiwi or Haast tokoeka, ''Apteryx australis 'Haast''', is the rarest taxon of kiwi with only about 300 individuals. It was identified as a distinct form in 1993. It occurs only in a restricted area in the Haast Range of the Southern Alps at an altitude of {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}}. This form is distinguished by a more strongly downcurved bill and more rufous plumage.<ref name="Apteryx australis brown kiwi"/> |'''16,500'''<ref name='A.australis IUCN'>{{Cite IUCN|title=Apteryx australis|article-number=e.T22678122A214272214|last=BirdLife International|year=2022|access-date=2025-12-23|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T22678122A214272214.en}}</ref> |{{IUCN-VU}}<ref name='A.australis IUCN'/> |align="center"|{{increase}}<ref name='A.australis IUCN'/> |- |120px || ''Apteryx mantelli'' or ''Apteryx australis'' |North Island brown kiwi || North Island || ''A. mantelli'' (or ''A. australis'' before 2000 and still in some sources) females stand about {{convert |40|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall and weigh about {{convert|2.8|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, while the males weigh about {{convert|2.2|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The plumage is streaky red-brown and spiky. The female usually lays two eggs, which are incubated by the male.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McLennan |first=J.A.|date=1988|jstor=24052821|journal=New Zealand Journal of Ecology|volume=11|pages=89–97|title=Breeding of North Island Brown Kiwi, Apteryx Australis Mantelli, in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand}}</ref> The North Island brown has demonstrated a remarkable resilience: it adapts to a wide range of habitats, including non-native forests and some farmland. It is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island and is the most common kiwi, with about 35,000 remaining.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=9818&m=1 | title=Northern Brown Kiwi | work=BirdLife Species Factsheet | access-date=6 February 2009 | author=BirdLife International | year=2008 | archive-date=3 January 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103162031/http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=9818&m=1 | url-status=live }}</ref> |'''10,000-19,999'''<ref name='A.mantelli IUCN'>{{Cite IUCN|title=Apteryx mantelli|article-number=e.T45353580A119177586|last=BirdLife International|year=2017|access-date=2025-12-23|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T45353580A119177586.en}}</ref> |{{IUCN-VU}}<ref name='A.mantelli IUCN'/> |align="center"|{{steady}}<ref name='A.mantelli IUCN'/> |- | || ''Apteryx littoralis''|| "Kiwi of the shore"|| North Island || ''A. littoralis'' is the only known extinct species of ''Apteryx'', known from Pleistocene-age rocks that are roughly one million years old. The holotype, NMNZ S.36731, is a tarsometatarsus. The holotype was found to be most similar to the Okarito and North Island brown kiwi, although it was stouter and proportionally more narrow. It is thought to have been restricted to coastal habitats due to volcanism present on the North Island at this time.<ref name=Kiwi>{{Cite Q|Q114639403}}</ref> | | | |}

==Description== thumb|right|Clockwise from left: brown kiwi (''Apteryx australis''), little spotted kiwi (''Apteryx owenii'') and great spotted kiwi (''Apteryx haastii'') at Auckland War Memorial Museum thumb|1860s drawing of ''Apteryx'', illustrating its distinctive features, including long beak, short legs and claws, and dark hair-like feathers.

Their adaptation to a terrestrial life is extensive: like all the other ratites (ostrich, emu, rhea and cassowary), they have no keel on the sternum to anchor wing muscles. The vestigial wings are so small that they are invisible under the bristly, hair-like, two-branched feathers. While most adult birds have bones with hollow insides to minimise weight and make flight practicable, kiwi have marrow, like mammals and the young of other birds. Like most other ratites, they have no uropygial gland (preen gland). Their bill is long, pliable and sensitive to touch, and their eyes have a reduced pecten. Their feathers lack barbules and aftershafts, and they have large vibrissae around the gape. They have 13 flight feathers, no tail and a small pygostyle. Their gizzard is weak and their caecum is long and narrow.<ref name="Davies">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Davies |first=S.J.J.F.|editor=Hutchins, Michael |encyclopedia=Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia |edition=2nd |year=2003 |publisher=Gale Group |title=8 Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins |location=Farmington Hills, Michigan |isbn=978-0-7876-5784-0 |pages=89–90}}</ref>

The eye of the kiwi is the smallest relative to body mass in all avian species, resulting in the smallest visual field as well. The eye has small specialisations for a nocturnal lifestyle, but kiwi rely more heavily on their other senses (auditory, olfactory, and somatosensory system). The sight of the kiwi is so underdeveloped that blind specimens have been observed in nature, showing how little they rely on sight for survival and foraging. In an experiment, it was observed that one-third of a population of ''A. rowi'' in New Zealand under no environmental stress had ocular lesions in one or both eyes. The same experiment examined three specific specimens that showed complete blindness and found them to be in good physical standing outside of ocular abnormalities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Moore|first1=Bret A.|last2=Paul-Murphy|first2=Joanne R.|last3=Tennyson|first3=Alan J. D.|last4=Murphy|first4=Christopher J.|date=15 September 2017|title=Blind free-living kiwi offer a unique window into the ecology and evolution of vertebrate vision|journal=BMC Biology|volume=15|issue=1|page=85|doi=10.1186/s12915-017-0424-0|pmid=28915882|pmc=5602912|issn=1741-7007 |doi-access=free }}</ref> A 2018 study revealed that the kiwi's closest relatives, the extinct elephant birds, also shared this trait despite their great size.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/nocturnal-elephant-birds-06563.html|title=Study: Elephant Birds were Nocturnal, Possibly Blind {{!}} Paleontology {{!}} Sci-News.com|work=Breaking Science News {{!}} Sci-News.com|access-date=4 November 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=4 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104125847/http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/nocturnal-elephant-birds-06563.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Unlike virtually every other palaeognath, which are generally small-brained by bird standards, kiwi have proportionally large encephalisation quotients. Hemisphere proportions are even similar to those of parrots and songbirds, though there is no evidence of similarly complex behaviour.<ref name="Corfield2008">{{cite journal|author=Corfield, J.|author2=Wild, J.M.|author3=Hauber M.E.|author4=Kubke, M.F.|name-list-style=amp|title=Evolution of brain size in the Palaeognath lineage, with an emphasis on New Zealand ratites|journal=Brain, Behavior and Evolution|volume=71|issue=2|pages=87–99|year=2008|doi=10.1159/000111456|pmid=18032885|s2cid=31628714}}</ref> thumb|The call of a male North Island Brown Kiwi ''Apteryx mantelli''

==Behaviour and ecology== Before the arrival of humans in the 13th century or earlier, New Zealand's only endemic mammals were three species of bat, and the ecological niches that in other parts of the world were filled by creatures as diverse as horses, wolves and mice were taken up by birds (and, to a lesser extent, reptiles, insects and gastropods).<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Kolbert|first1=Elizabeth|title=The Big Kill|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/22/big-kill|access-date=16 December 2014|magazine=The New Yorker|date=22 December 2014|archive-date=16 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216050041/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/22/big-kill|url-status=live}}</ref>

The kiwi's mostly nocturnal habits may be a result of habitat intrusion by predators, including humans. In areas of New Zealand where introduced predators have been removed, such as sanctuaries, kiwi are often seen in daylight. They prefer subtropical and temperate podocarp and beech forests, but they are being forced to adapt to different habitat, such as sub-alpine scrub, tussock grassland, and the mountains.<ref name="Davies" /> Kiwi have a highly developed sense of smell, unusual in a bird, and are the only birds with nostrils at the end of their long beaks. Kiwi eat small invertebrates, seeds, grubs, and many varieties of worms. They also may eat fruit, small crayfish, eels and amphibians. Because their nostrils are located at the end of their long beaks, kiwi can locate insects and worms underground using their keen sense of smell, without actually seeing or feeling them.<ref name="Davies" /> This sense of smell is due to a highly developed olfactory chamber and surrounding regions. It is a common belief that the kiwi relies solely on its sense of smell to catch prey, but this has not been scientifically observed. Lab experiments have suggested that ''A. australis'' can rely on olfaction alone but is not consistent under natural conditions. Instead, the kiwi may rely on auditory and/or vibrotactile cues.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cunningham |first1=Susan |last2=Castro |first2=Isabel |author-link2=Isabel Castro (biologist) |last3=Alley |first3=Maurice |date=1 October 2007 |title=A new prey-detection mechanism for kiwi (Apteryx spp.) suggests convergent evolution between paleognathous and neognathous birds |journal=Journal of Anatomy |language=en |volume=211 |issue=4 |pages=493–502 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7580.2007.00786.x |issn=1469-7580 |pmc=2375824 |pmid=17711422}}</ref>

[[File:KiwiEggRatio.svg|upright|thumb|Relative size of the egg]]

=== Mating and breeding === Once bonded, a male and female kiwi tend to live their entire lives as a monogamous couple. During the mating season, June to March, the pair call to each other at night, and meet in the nesting burrow every three days. These relationships may last for up to 20 years.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://SavetheKiwi.org.nz/ | title = Save the Kiwi | access-date = 3 July 2021 | archive-date = 10 June 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150610090610/http://savethekiwi.org.nz/ | url-status = live }}, formerly Kiwi Recovery.</ref> They are unusual among other birds in that, along with some raptors, they have a functioning pair of ovaries. (In most birds and in platypuses, the right ovary never matures, so that only the left is functional.<ref name="Davies" /><ref>Fitzpatrick, F.L., (1934). Unilateral and bilateral ovaries in raptorial birds. The Wilson Bulletin, 46(1): 19–22</ref><ref>Kinsky, F.C., (1971). The consistent presence of paired ovaries in the Kiwi (Apteryx) with some discussion of this condition in other birds. Journal of Ornithology 112(3): 334–357.</ref>).

Usually, only one egg is laid per season. The kiwi lays one of the largest eggs in proportion to its size of any bird in the world,<ref>{{Citation | publisher = Auckland Zoo | title = Official Guide Book | chapter = Wilderness New Zealand}}</ref>{{efn|Some petrels may exceed this.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kerry-Jayne |first1=Kerry-Jayne |title=Petrels, Breeding |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/petrels/page-2 |website=Te Ara |publisher=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=13 April 2019 |archive-date=12 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412083507/https://teara.govt.nz/en/petrels/page-2 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sanz-Aguilar |first1=Ana |title=Is Laying a Large Egg Expensive? Female-Biased Cost of First Reproduction in a Petrel |journal=The Auk |volume=129 |issue=3 |pages=510–516 |publisher=BioOne Complete |doi=10.1525/auk.2012.12011 |year=2012 |url=https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/99097/1/Sanz-The-Auk-2012-v129-n3-p510.pdf |hdl=10261/99097 |s2cid=27277394 |hdl-access=free |access-date=24 September 2019 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308074910/https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/99097/1/Sanz-The-Auk-2012-v129-n3-p510.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>}} so even though the kiwi is about the size of a domestic chicken, it is able to lay eggs that are about six times the size of a chicken's egg.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://Savethekiwi.org/ | title = Save the kiwi | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110924103747/http://www.savethekiwi.org/ | archive-date = 24 September 2011}}</ref> Kiwi eggs can weigh up to one-quarter the weight of the female, helped by their inability to fly that could limit the extent by its body weight; brown kiwi females carry and lay a single egg that may weigh as much as {{convert|450|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Davies"/> The eggs are smooth in texture, and are ivory or greenish white.<ref name="kiwiweb">{{cite web | url = http://www.chemistry.co.nz/kiwibird.htm | title = The Kiwi Bird, New Zealand's Indigenous Flightless Bird | access-date = 16 January 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100210185436/http://www.chemistry.co.nz/kiwibird.htm | archive-date = 10 February 2010 }}</ref> The male incubates the egg, except for the great spotted kiwi, ''A. haastii'', in which both parents are involved. The incubation period is 63–92 days.<ref name="Davies" /> Producing the huge egg places significant physiological stress on the female; for the thirty days it takes to grow the fully developed egg, the female must eat three times her normal amount of food. Two to three days before the egg is laid there is little space left inside the female for her stomach and she is forced to fast.<ref>{{Citation | last = Piper | first = Ross | year = 2007 | title = Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals | publisher = Greenwood Press}}</ref>

It was believed that the large eggs were a trait of much larger moa-like ancestors, and that kiwi retained large eggs as an evolutionarily neutral trait as they became smaller. However, research in the early 2010s suggested that kiwi were descended from smaller flighted birds that flew to New Zealand and Madagascar, where they gave rise to kiwi and elephant birds. The large egg is instead thought to be an adaptation for precocity, enabling kiwi chicks to hatch mobile and with yolk to sustain them for two and half weeks. The large eggs would be safe in New Zealand's historical absence of egg-eating ground predators, while the mobile chicks would be able to evade chick-eating flying predators.<ref name="Audubon_Dean">{{Cite web |last=Dean |first=Sam |date=2015-02-25 |title=Why Is the Kiwi's Egg So Big? |url=https://www.audubon.org/news/why-kiwis-egg-so-big |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524073536/https://www.audubon.org/news/why-kiwis-egg-so-big |archive-date=2021-05-24 |access-date=2021-10-20 |website=Audubon |language=en}}</ref>

== Pests == Lice in the genus ''Apterygon''<ref name=Clay1960/><ref name=Tandan1972/><ref name=Palma2004/> and in the subgenus ''Rallicola'' (''Aptericola'')<ref name=Harrison1915/><ref name=Clay1972/> are exclusively ectoparasites of kiwi species.<ref name=Palma2017/>

==Status and conservation== thumb|right|150px|Traffic sign in New Zealand cautioning drivers of nearby kiwi Nationwide studies show that only around 5–10% of kiwi chicks survive to adulthood without management.<ref name="5%">{{Citation| title = Role of predation in the decline of kiwi, Apteryx spp., in New Zealand| author = JA McLennan| year = 1996| url = http://www.newzealandecology.org.nz/nzje/free_issues/NZJEcol20_1_27.pdf| display-authors = etal| access-date = 27 October 2012| archive-date = 6 February 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130206155250/http://newzealandecology.org.nz/nzje/free_issues/NZJEcol20_1_27.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="kiwi threats">{{cite web|title=Facts and threats to kiwi|url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kiwi/facts/|publisher=Department of Conservation|access-date=20 February 2018|archive-date=20 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220033338/http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kiwi/facts/|url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2018}} over 70% of kiwi populations are unmanaged.<ref name="KiwiRecovery" /> However, in areas under active pest management, survival rates for North Island brown kiwi can be far higher. For example, prior to a joint 1080 poison operation undertaken by DOC and the Animal Health Board in Tongariro Forest in 2006, 32 kiwi chicks were radio-tagged.

Efforts to protect kiwi have had some success, and in 2017 two species were downlisted from endangered to vulnerable by the IUCN.<ref>{{cite news|title=Brown kiwi and rowi no longer considered endangered|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11953693|access-date=26 May 2018|work=The New Zealand Herald|date=5 December 2017|language=en-NZ|archive-date=26 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526190714/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11953693|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018 the Department of Conservation released its current Kiwi Conservation Plan.<ref name="KiwiRecovery">{{CiteQ|Q110608596}}</ref>

===Sanctuaries=== In 2000, the Department of Conservation set up five kiwi sanctuaries focused on developing methods to protect kiwi and to increase their numbers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our work with kiwi|url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kiwi/docs-work/|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.doc.govt.nz|language=en-nz|archive-date=4 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304005915/https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kiwi/docs-work/|url-status=live}}</ref> :There are three kiwi sanctuaries in the North Island: :*Whangarei Kiwi Sanctuary (for Northland brown kiwi)<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Us – Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre, Whangarei|url=https://www.nbr.org.nz/about-us/|access-date=2021-07-03|language=en-NZ|archive-date=6 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206213626/https://www.nbr.org.nz/about-us/|url-status=live}}</ref> :*Moehau Kiwi Sanctuary on the Coromandel Peninsula (Coromandel brown kiwi)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Regions – Kiwis for kiwi|url=https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/what-we-do/saving-the-kiwi/the-regions/|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.kiwisforkiwi.org|archive-date=31 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131161511/https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/what-we-do/saving-the-kiwi/the-regions/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Kiwi Sanctuary – Moehau Environment Group|url=http://meg.org.nz/projects/our-kiwi-sanctuary/|access-date=2021-07-03|language=en-US|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126105320/http://meg.org.nz/projects/our-kiwi-sanctuary/|url-status=live}}</ref> :*Tongariro Kiwi Sanctuary near Taupō (western brown kiwi)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Operation Nest Egg|url=https://www.tongariro.org.nz/operation-nest-egg-1|access-date=2021-07-03|website=Project Tongariro|language=en-GB|archive-date=7 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207204719/https://www.tongariro.org.nz/operation-nest-egg-1/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-11-05|title=Tongariro Forest Kiwi Sanctuary :: Kiwis for kiwi|url=https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/what-we-do/who-are-kiwis-for-kiwi/kiwi-sanctuaries/tongariro/|access-date=2021-07-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105132033/https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/what-we-do/who-are-kiwis-for-kiwi/kiwi-sanctuaries/tongariro/|archive-date=5 November 2012}}</ref> :and two in the South Island: :*Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary (Okarito kiwi)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kiwis for kiwi, protecting our national bird – About Rowi|url=https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/about-kiwi/kiwi-species/rowi/|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.kiwisforkiwi.org|archive-date=2 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302080555/https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/about-kiwi/kiwi-species/rowi/|url-status=live}}</ref> :*Haast Kiwi Sanctuary (Haast tokoeka)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Haast Tokoeka :: Kiwis for kiwi|url=https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/about-kiwi/kiwi-species/tokoeka/haast-tokoeka/|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.kiwisforkiwi.org|archive-date=2 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202214304/https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/about-kiwi/kiwi-species/tokoeka/haast-tokoeka/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Tokoeka|url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kiwi/tokoeka/|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.doc.govt.nz|language=en-nz|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227034801/https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kiwi/tokoeka/|url-status=live}}</ref>

A number of other mainland conservation islands and fenced sanctuaries have significant populations of kiwi, including: * Zealandia fenced sanctuary in Wellington (little spotted kiwi)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Little Spotted Kiwi|url=https://www.visitzealandia.com/About/Wildlife/Birds/Little-Spotted-Kiwi|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.visitzealandia.com|archive-date=4 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604073712/https://www.visitzealandia.com/About/Wildlife/Birds/Little-Spotted-Kiwi|url-status=live}}</ref> * Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari in Waikato (brown kiwi)<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Relocating chicks to kōhanga – Kiwis for kiwi|url=https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/what-we-do/saving-the-kiwi/the-programme/relocating-chicks-to-kohanga/|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.kiwisforkiwi.org|archive-date=2 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302075043/https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/what-we-do/saving-the-kiwi/the-programme/relocating-chicks-to-kohanga/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari – About us|url=https://www.sanctuarymountain.co.nz/about-us|access-date=2021-07-03|website=MOCA|archive-date=5 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305202518/https://www.sanctuarymountain.co.nz/about-us|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Birds {{!}} Our Wildlife|url=https://www.sanctuarymountain.co.nz/birds|access-date=2021-07-03|website=MOCA|archive-date=5 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305202525/https://www.sanctuarymountain.co.nz/birds|url-status=live}}</ref> * Bushy Park Forest Reserve near Kai Iwi, Whanganui (brown kiwi)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bushy Park bird list Jan 2019 (1).pdf|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DD2li-6Zp2T8q5j82vh23gQZ5liY7TSW/view?usp=sharing&usp=embed_facebook|access-date=2021-07-03|website=Google Docs|archive-date=3 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703234957/https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DD2li-6Zp2T8q5j82vh23gQZ5liY7TSW/view?usp=sharing&usp=embed_facebook|url-status=live}}</ref> * Otanewainuku Forest in the Bay of Plenty Region (brown kiwi)<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Otanewainuku Kiwi Trust :: Kiwis for kiwi|url=https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/what-we-do/who-are-kiwis-for-kiwi/community-efforts/bay-of-plenty/otanewainuku-kiwi-trust/|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.kiwisforkiwi.org|archive-date=1 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201155022/https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/what-we-do/who-are-kiwis-for-kiwi/community-efforts/bay-of-plenty/otanewainuku-kiwi-trust/|url-status=live}}</ref> * Hurunui Mainland Island, south branch, Hurunui River, North Canterbury (great spotted kiwi)

North Island brown kiwi were introduced to the Cape Sanctuary in Hawke's Bay between 2008 and 2011, which in turn provided captive-raised chicks that were released back into Maungataniwha Native Forest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naturespace.org.nz/history/history-of-cape-sanctuary |title=History of Cape Sanctuary|website=Nature Space |access-date=11 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118013340/http://www.naturespace.org.nz/history/history-of-cape-sanctuary |archive-date=18 January 2015 }}</ref>

Sanctuaries for kiwi are also referred to as 'kōhanga sites'<ref name=":1" /> from the Māori word for 'nest' or 'nursery'.<ref>{{Cite web|title=kōhanga – Māori Dictionary|url=https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=k%C5%8Dhanga|access-date=2021-07-03|website=maoridictionary.co.nz|archive-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303175400/https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=k%C5%8Dhanga|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:TWC Wildlife Centre• Stewart Nimmo • MRD 8502.jpg|thumb|The West Coast Wildlife Centre, at Franz Josef on the southern West Coast of New Zealand, is part of Project Nest Egg, breeding the vulnerable local species of kiwi known as the rowi.]]

===Operation Nest Egg=== {{anchor|Operation "Nest Egg"|reason=original, malformed heading; may have incoming links}}

Operation Nest Egg is a programme run by the BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust—a partnership between the Bank of New Zealand, the Department of Conservation and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. Kiwi eggs and chicks are removed from the wild and hatched and/or raised in captivity until big enough to fend for themselves—usually when they weigh around 1200 grams (42 ounces). They are then returned to the wild. An Operation Nest Egg bird has a 65% chance of surviving to adulthood—compared to just 5% for wild-hatched and -raised chicks.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.savethekiwi.org.nz/bnz-save-the-kiwi/operation-nest-egg/operation-nest-egg.html | title = Operation Nest Egg | publisher = Save the wiki | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110903145411/http://www.savethekiwi.org.nz/bnz-save-the-kiwi/operation-nest-egg/operation-nest-egg.html | archive-date = 3 September 2011}}</ref> The tool is used on all kiwi species except little spotted kiwi.

===1080 poison=== {{Main|1080 usage in New Zealand}}

In 2004, anti-1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) activist Phillip Anderton posed for the New Zealand media with a kiwi he claimed had been poisoned. An investigation revealed that Anderton lied to journalists and the public.<ref name="NZ_Herald_3588802">{{cite news |url= http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rosaleen-macbrayne/news/article.cfm?a_id=132&objectid=3588802 |title= Poison campaigner fined after using kiwi in stunt |last= Macbrayne |first= Rosaleen |date= 3 September 2004 |work= The New Zealand Herald |access-date= 13 October 2011 |archive-date= 20 November 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121120173133/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rosaleen-macbrayne/news/article.cfm?a_id=132&objectid=3588802 |url-status= live }}</ref> He had used a kiwi that had been caught in a possum trap. Extensive monitoring shows that kiwi are not at risk from the use of biodegradable 1080 poison.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.feral.org.au/survival-of-brown-kiwi-exposed-to-1080-poison-used-for-control-of-brushtail-possums-in-northland-new-zealand-2 | title = Survival of brown kiwi exposed to 1080 poison used for control of brushtail possums in Northland, New Zealand | last1 = Robertson | first1 = HA | year = 1999 | display-authors = etal | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110929224245/http://www.feral.org.au/survival-of-brown-kiwi-exposed-to-1080-poison-used-for-control-of-brushtail-possums-in-northland-new-zealand-2/ | archive-date = 29 September 2011}}</ref>

===Threats=== Introduced mammalian predators, namely stoats, dogs, ferrets, and cats, are the principal threats to kiwi. The biggest threat to kiwi chicks is stoats, while dogs are the biggest threat to adult kiwi.<ref name="kiwi threats" /> Stoats are responsible for approximately half of kiwi chick deaths in many areas through New Zealand. Young kiwi chicks are vulnerable to stoat predation until they reach about {{convert|1|-|1.2|kg|abbr=on}} in weight, at which time they can usually defend themselves. Cats also to a lesser extent prey on kiwi chicks.<ref name="kiwi threats" /> These predators can cause large and abrupt declines in populations. In particular, dogs find the distinctive strong scent of kiwi irresistible and easy to track, such that they can catch and kill kiwi in seconds. Motor vehicle strike is a threat to all kiwi where roads cross through their habitat. Badly set possum traps often kill or maim kiwi.<ref>[http://www.whakatanekiwi.org.nz/about-new-zealand-kiwi/threats-to-kiwi.asp "Threats to Kiwi"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113113230/http://www.whakatanekiwi.org.nz/about-new-zealand-kiwi/threats-to-kiwi.asp |date=13 January 2015 }}, Whakatane Kiwi Trust</ref>

Habitat destruction is another major threat to kiwi; restricted distribution and small size of some kiwi populations increases their vulnerability to inbreeding.<ref name="kiwi threats" /> Research has shown that the combined effect of predators and other mortality (accidents, etc.) results in less than 5% of kiwi chicks surviving to adulthood.<ref name="5%"/>

==Relationship to humans== [[File:Detail of bottom border of Māori kahu kiwi.jpg|thumb|upright|Detail of the bottom edge of a kahu kiwi, showing the distinctive hair-like nature of the kiwi feathers.]]

The Māori traditionally believed that kiwi were under the protection of Tāne Mahuta, god of the forest. They were used as food and their feathers were used for kahu kiwi—ceremonial cloaks.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/NativeBirdsAndBats/Kiwi/4/en | contribution = Kiwi and people: early history | title = Te Ara | publisher = New Zealand Government | access-date = 12 May 2009 | archive-date = 12 December 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081212052947/http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/NativeBirdsAndBats/Kiwi/4/en | url-status = live }}</ref> Today, while kiwi feathers are still used, they are gathered from birds that die naturally, through road accidents, or predation, and from captive birds.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.nzembassy.com/usa/news/new-zealand-embassy-and-smithsonian-national-zoo-host-handover-ceremony-to-return-kiwi-feat | title = New Zealand Embassy and Smithsonian National Zoo host handover ceremony to return kiwi feathers to New Zealand | publisher = New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade | access-date = 30 October 2012 | archive-date = 20 November 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121120123305/http://www.nzembassy.com/usa/news/new-zealand-embassy-and-smithsonian-national-zoo-host-handover-ceremony-to-return-kiwi-feat | url-status = live }}</ref> Kiwi are no longer hunted and some Māori consider themselves the birds' guardians.<ref name="savethekiwi.org.nz">{{Citation | url = http://www.savethekiwi.org.nz/about-the-bird/kiwi-a-maori/kiwi-a-maori.html | contribution = Kiwi a Maori | title = About the bird | publisher = Save the kiwi | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110705001243/http://www.savethekiwi.org.nz/about-the-bird/kiwi-a-maori/kiwi-a-maori.html | archive-date = 5 July 2011}}</ref>

===Scientific documentation=== In 1813, George Shaw named the genus ''Apteryx'' in his species description of the southern brown kiwi, which he called "the southern apteryx". Captain Andrew Barclay of the ship ''Providence'' provided Shaw with the specimen. Shaw's description was accompanied by two plates, engraved by Frederick Polydore Nodder; they were published in volume 24 of ''The Naturalist's Miscellany''.<ref name=Shaw1913>{{cite journal|last1=Shaw|first1=George|last2=Nodder|first2=Frederick P.|journal=The Naturalist's Miscellany|volume=24|date=1813|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47721536|title=''Apteryx australis''. The Southern Apteryx|at=Plates 1057–1058|access-date=4 November 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107180941/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47721536|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Zoos=== In 1851, London Zoo became the first zoo to keep kiwi. The first captive breeding took place in 1945.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/tsop24.pdf| title= Captive management plan for kiwi| date= June 2004| page= 10| publisher= New Zealand Department of Conservation| access-date= 17 August 2009| archive-date= 23 May 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100523154801/http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/tsop24.pdf| url-status= live}}</ref> As of 2007 only 13 zoos outside New Zealand hold kiwi.<ref>{{Citation | title = Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine Current Therapy | first1 = Murray E | last1 = Fowler | first2 = R Eric | last2 = Miller | publisher = Elsevier Health Sciences | year = 2007 | page = 215}}</ref> The Frankfurt Zoo has 12, the Berlin Zoo has seven, Walsrode Bird Park has one, the Avifauna Bird Park in the Netherlands has three, the San Diego Zoo has five, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park has one, the National Zoo in Washington, DC has eleven, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute has one, and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has three.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shy envoys off on their OE | first=Eloise |last=Gibson |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=29 April 2010 |page=a4 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/news/kiwi-fun-facts|title=Kiwi Fun Facts|date=7 October 2016|work=Smithsonian's National Zoo|access-date=23 November 2016|archive-date=24 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124100603/https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/news/kiwi-fun-facts|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2023, Zoo Miami apologised for mistreating a kiwi, after footage of visitors patting the nocturnal bird under bright lights caused outrage in New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Miami zoo apologises for mistreatment of iconic kiwi bird |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65694168 |last=Ritchie |first=Hannah |date=2023-05-24 |access-date=2023-05-24 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

===As a national symbol=== {{See also|National symbols of New Zealand}} thumb|upright|The kiwi on an 1898 New Zealand stamp

The kiwi as a symbol first appeared in the late 19th century in New Zealand regimental badges. It was later featured in the badges of the South Canterbury Battalion in 1886 and the Hastings Rifle Volunteers in 1887. Soon after, the kiwi appeared in many military badges; and in 1906, when Kiwi Shoe Polish was widely sold in the UK and the US, the symbol became more widely known.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brooks|first1=Miki|title=Lessons From a Land Down Under: Devotions from New Zealand|publisher=Lulu|isbn=978-0-557-09884-2|pages=3–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JI-NBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA3|language=en|access-date=24 September 2020|archive-date=3 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703234909/https://books.google.com/books?id=JI-NBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA3|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the First World War, the name "Kiwis" for New Zealand soldiers came into general use, and a giant kiwi (now known as the Bulford kiwi) was carved on the chalk hill above Sling Camp in England. Usage has become so widespread that all New Zealanders overseas and at home are now commonly referred to as "Kiwis".<ref>[http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/kiwi/page-5 "A kiwi country"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117190429/http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/kiwi/page-5 |date=17 January 2014 }}, Te Ara</ref>

The kiwi has since become the best-known national symbol for New Zealand, and the bird is prominent in the coat of arms, crests and badges of many New Zealand cities, clubs and organisations. At the national level, the red silhouette of a kiwi is in the centre of the roundel of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.<ref name="kiwiweb"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzs.com/about-new-zealand/the-kiwi/|work=About New Zealand|title=The Kiwi|publisher=NZ Search|access-date=16 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524004547/http://www.nzs.com/about-new-zealand/the-kiwi/|archive-date=24 May 2010}}</ref> The kiwi is featured in the logo of the New Zealand Rugby League, and the New Zealand national rugby league team are nicknamed the Kiwis.

A kiwi has featured on the reverse side of three New Zealand coins: the one florin (two-shilling) coin from 1933 to 1966, the twenty-cent coin from 1967 to 1990, and the one-dollar coin since 1991. In currency trading the New Zealand dollar is often referred to as "the kiwi".<ref name="NBR_20121027">{{cite news |url=http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nz-dollar-falls-after-rbnzs-wheeler-talks-down-intervention-quantitative-easing-bd-131312 |title=Kiwi falls after Wheeler talks down intervention, QE |date=27 October 2012 |work=The National Business Review |access-date=27 October 2012 |archive-date=4 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604202235/http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/nz-dollar-falls-after-rbnzs-wheeler-talks-down-intervention-quantitative-easing-bd-131312 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===In popular culture===

A song, "Sticky Beak the Kiwi", with words by Bob Edwards and music by Neil Roberts, was recorded in 1961, sung by Julie Nelson (aged 14) and accompanied by the Satins and the Don Bell Orchestra of Whangārei. A Christmas song, it portrays Sticky Beak as insisting on pulling Santa Claus's sleigh when distributing presents south of the equator.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/sound/sticky-beak-the-kiwi-song|title='Sticky Beak the kiwi' song | NZHistory, New Zealand history online|website=nzhistory.govt.nz|access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref>

"How the Kiwi Lost its Wings" is a fable written by broadcaster Alwyn Owen in 1963. It uses elements of Māori mythology, such as Tāne Mahuta, and the World War I symbol of cowardice, white feathers, in a pourquoi story explaining features of New Zealand birds. Owen portrays the kiwi as nobly sacrificing its wings and flight in order to protect the trees from depredation by ground-dwelling creatures, and thereby winning its unique renown. Owen's story is sometimes described as "A Maori Legend".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hoopermuseum.earthsci.carleton.ca/flightless/losewing.htm|title=New Zealand Maori Legend – How the Kiwi Lost his Wings|website=hoopermuseum.earthsci.carleton.ca|access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://polynesia.com/blog/maori-legend-how-the-kiwi-bird-lost-his-wings|title=Māori Legend: How the kiwi bird lost his wings – a story by Alwyn Owen|first=Nina|last=Jones|date=1 May 2020|access-date=11 May 2023|archive-date=2 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102234052/https://polynesia.com/blog/maori-legend-how-the-kiwi-bird-lost-his-wings|url-status=dead}}</ref> It has been recorded as a children's story, published as a book,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/how-the-kiwi-lost-its-wings-5578867|title=How The Kiwi Lost Its Wings | Whitcoulls|website=www.whitcoulls.co.nz|access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref> was made into an animated film in 1980,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAUDwfiFY-A|title=New Scan of How Kiwi Lost Its Wings (1980)|date=28 October 2021 |access-date=11 May 2023|via=www.youtube.com}}</ref> set to music for the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra by Thomas Goss as "Tāne and the Kiwi" in 2002 (recorded for RNZ by Orchestra Wellington in 2008<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/concert/programmes/musicalive/audio/2018741114/thomas-goss-tane-and-the-kiwi|title=Thomas GOSS: Tāne and the Kiwi|date=1 April 2020|website=RNZ |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref>), and performed as a ballet by the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2022/the-royal-new-zealand-ballet-presents-tane-and-the-kiwi/wellington|title=The Royal New Zealand Ballet presents – Tāne and the Kiwi|website=Eventfinda|date=14 July 2022 |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Birds}} * Birds of New Zealand * Conservation in New Zealand

==Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=Clay1960>{{cite journal|last1=Clay|first1=Theresa|title=A new genus and species of Menoponidae (Mallophaga, Insecta) from ''Apteryx''|journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History|date=1960|volume=3|issue=33|pages=571–576|doi=10.1080/00222936008651059|series=Series 13}}</ref>

<ref name=Clay1972>{{cite journal|last1=Clay|first1=Theresa|title=The Species of ''Rallicola'' (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Ischnocera) Parasitic on Kiwis (''Apteryx'')|journal=New Zealand Journal of Science|date=1972|volume=15|issue=1|pages=70–76|url=http://darwin.biology.utah.edu/pubshtml/LicePubPages/LicePDF%27s/1972/Clay1972speciesRallicola.pdf|access-date=4 November 2017|archive-date=11 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111004430/http://darwin.biology.utah.edu/PubsHTML/LicePubPages/LicePDF%27s/1972/Clay1972speciesRallicola.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name=Harrison1915>{{cite journal|last1=Harrison|first1=Launcelot|title=Mallophaga from ''Apteryx'', and their Significance; with a Note on the Genus ''Rallicola''|journal=Parasitology|date=1915|volume=8|issue=1|pages=88–100|doi=10.1017/S0031182000010428|s2cid=84334233 |url=http://phthiraptera.info/Publications/0182.pdf|access-date=4 November 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107015756/http://phthiraptera.info/Publications/0182.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name=ICZN1916>{{cite book|chapter=Opinion 67. One hundred and two bird names placed in the Official List of Generic Names|series=Opinions and Declarations Rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature|date=1958|orig-date=1916|volume=1B|page=179|chapter-url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34612866|title=Facsimile Edition of Opinions 1–133|location=London|publisher=International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature|editor-last=Hemming|editor-first=Francis|access-date=4 November 2017|archive-date=19 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119060328/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34612866|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name=Palma2004>{{cite journal|last1=Palma|first1=Ricardo L.|last2=Price|first2=Roger D.|title=''Apterygon okarito'' a new species of chewing louse (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) from the Okarito brown kiwi (Aves: Apterygiformes: Apterygidae)|journal=New Zealand Journal of Zoology|date=2004|volume=31|issue=1|pages=67–73|doi=10.1080/03014223.2004.9518361|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name=Palma2017>{{cite book|last1=Palma|first1=Ricardo L.|title=Phthiraptera (Insecta) A catalogue of parasitic lice from New Zealand|date=2017|publisher=Landcare Research|location=Lincoln, New Zealand|isbn=978-0-947525-19-4|doi-access=free|doi=10.7931/J2/FNZ.76|series=Fauna of New Zealand|volume=76|pages=39–41, 186–188, 245}}</ref>

<ref name=Tandan1972>{{cite journal|last1=Tandan|first1=B. K.|title=The Species of ''Apterygon'' (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Amblycera) Parasitic on Kiwis (''Apteryx'')|journal=New Zealand Journal of Science|date=1972|volume=15|issue=1|pages=52–69|url=http://darwin.biology.utah.edu/pubshtml/LicePubPages/LicePDF%27s/1972/Tandan1972speciesApterygon.pdf|access-date=4 November 2017|archive-date=11 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111004733/http://darwin.biology.utah.edu/PubsHTML/LicePubPages/LicePDF%27s/1972/Tandan1972speciesApterygon.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> }}

== Further reading == * Burbidge, M.L., Colbourne, R.M., Robertson, H.A., and Baker, A.J. (2003). Molecular and other biological evidence supports the recognition of at least three species of brown kiwi. [http://www.kluweronline.com/issn/1566-0621/contents ''Conservation Genetics''], '''4'''(2):167–77 * Cooper, Alan et al. (2001). Complete mitochondrial genome sequences of two extinct moas clarify ratite evolution. ''Nature'', '''409''': 704–07. * {{cite web | url = http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/tsrp60entire.pdf | title = Kiwi (''Apteryx'' spp.) recovery plan 2008–2018. (Threatened Species Recovery Plan 60)| year = 2008 | publisher = Department of Conservation | location = Wellington | access-date = 13 October 2011}} * Le Duc, D., G. Renaud, A. Krishnan, M.S. Almen, L. Huynen, S. J. Prohaska, M. Ongyerth, B. D. Bitarello, H. B. Schioth, M. Hofreiter, et al. 2015. Kiwi genome provides insights into the evolution of a nocturnal lifestyle. Genome Biology 16:147–162. * SavetheKiwi.org {{cite web|url=http://www.savethekiwi.org.nz/AboutTheBird/KiwiLifeCycle/Producinganegg.htm|title=Producing an Egg|access-date=13 August 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070629005119/http://www.savethekiwi.org.nz/AboutTheBird/KiwiLifeCycle/Producinganegg.htm  |archive-date = 29 June 2007}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Apteryx}} {{Wikiquote|Apteryx}} {{Wiktionary|kiwi}} {{Americana Poster|Apteryx}} * {{Citation | url = http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Apteryx_haastii/ | title = Species: birds | contribution = Great Spotted Kiwi | publisher = ARKive | access-date = 31 October 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070614224819/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Apteryx_haastii/ | archive-date = 14 June 2007 }}. * {{Citation | url = http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/land-birds/kiwi/ | title = Native animals: birds | contribution = Land birds: Kiwi | publisher = New Zealand Department of Conservation | access-date = 25 July 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091003115458/http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/land-birds/kiwi | archive-date = 3 October 2009 }}. * {{Citation | url = http://www.kiwirecovery.org.nz/ | publisher = BNZ Save The Kiwi Trust | title = Kiwi recovery | access-date = 7 December 2004 | archive-date = 14 June 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120614233127/http://www.kiwirecovery.org.nz/ }}. * {{Citation | url = http://www.terranature.org/kiwi1.htm | publisher = TerraNature | title = Kiwi}}. * {{Citation | url = http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/NativeBirdsAndBats/Kiwi/en | contribution = Kiwi | title = Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand | publisher = New Zealand Government | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080608222703/http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/NativeBirdsAndBats/Kiwi/en | archive-date = 8 June 2008}}. * {{Citation | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go52mHlKDEo | type = daylight video | contribution = North Island Brown Kiwi feeding in the wild | title = YouTube| date = 21 January 2010 }}. * {{Citation | url = http://www.taranakikiwi.org.nz/index.php?page=pests-and-threats | publisher = Taranaki Kiwi Trust | title = Pests & threats | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120402115711/http://www.taranakikiwi.org.nz/index.php?page=pests-and-threats | archive-date = 2 April 2012}}. * {{Citation | url = http://www.1080facts.co.nz/1080_case_studies |title=1080 and kiwi – Case studies on 1080: The facts |work=1080Facts.co.nz | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111202073649/http://www.1080facts.co.nz/1080_case_studies | archive-date = 2 December 2011}}.

Category:Apteryx Category:Endemic birds of New Zealand Category:Extant Miocene first appearances Category:Flightless birds Category:Kiwiana Category:National symbols of New Zealand Category:Novaeratitae Category:Ratites Category:Taxa named by George Shaw