{{Short description|Species of kiwi}} {{Population taxobox | image = West Coast Wildlife Centre Chopper, Haast tokoeka • MRD.jpg | status = NC | status_ref = <ref name=Doc /><ref name=Dif /> | status_system = NZTCS | genus = Apteryx | species = australis | population = 'Haast' | range_map = | synonyms = | synonyms_ref = }}
The '''Haast tokoeka''' or '''Haast kiwi''' (''Apteryx australis'' 'Haast') is a putative subspecies of the southern brown kiwi. It is one of the rarest kiwi in New Zealand.<ref name=Doc>{{cite web|title=Tokoeka – literally meaning 'weka with a walking stick' (Ngāi Tahu) - has three geographically and genetically distinct forms: Haast, Fiordland, and Rakiura (Stewart Island). |access-date=August 23, 2021|url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kiwi/tokoeka/|publisher=New Zealand Department of Conservation}}</ref><ref name=Dif>{{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327870625|access-date=August 24, 2021|author1=Daniel White|title=Novel genetic variation in an isolated population of the nationally critical Haast tokoeka (Apteryx australis 'Haast') reveals extreme short-range structure within this cryptic and flightless bird|year=2018|journal=Conservation Genetics |volume=19|issue=6|doi=10.1007/s10592-018-1109-0|author2=Ana Ramón-Laca|author3=Jacinda Amey|author4=Hugh Robertson|pages=1401–1410|bibcode=2018ConG...19.1401W |s2cid=52824376}}</ref> Like other kiwi, this bird is flightless.<ref name=NZB>{{cite web|publisher=New Zealand Birds Online|access-date=August 18, 2021|url=https://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/southern-brown-kiwi|title=Southern Brown Kiwi}}</ref>
==Morphology== This bird has red-brown feathers that resemble fur. It is flightless and has small wings and no tail. Its bill is long and narrow.<ref name=NZB />
==Habitat and habits== The Haast tokoeka lives high in the mountains on the west side of New Zealand's South Island. About half of its habitat is in a protected area, the Haast Kiwi Sanctuary.<ref name=Doc /><ref name=Bird>{{cite web|url=https://www.birdguides.com/news/new-kiwi-population-discovered-in-new-zealand/|title=New kiwi population discovered in New Zealand|date=July 10, 2019|access-date=August 25, 2021|publisher=Bird Guides}}</ref>
The adult Haast tokoeka live in pairs. They are territorial and fight other adult kiwis over good hunting and foraging ground. They are primarily nocturnal.<ref name=NZB /><ref name=Top>{{cite book|title=Top 100 Birding Sites Of The World|access-date=August 21, 2021|date=June 18, 2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|author=Dominic Couzens|isbn=978-1-4729-1985-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zL9lCQAAQBAJ&dq=%22stewart+Island+tokoeka%22&pg=PT607}}</ref><ref name=Adv>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fJ9UGCFfRAQC&dq=%22stewart+island+kiwi%22&pg=PA605|access-date=August 22, 2021|title=Adventure Guide to New Zealand|author= Bette Flagler |year= 2004|publisher=Hunter Publishing, Incorporated|isbn=978-1-58843-544-6 }}</ref>
==Taxonomic status== Not all scientists concur that the Haast tokoeka is a separate subspecies from the Fiordland tokoeka. New Zealand Birds Online refers to the Haast tokoeka as "recognised as being distinct for management purposes" because of its genetic and bodily differences from the Fiordland tokoeka.<ref name=NZB />
==Conservation== There are about 400 Haast tokoeka alive.<ref name=Doc /> Like other kiwi, the Haast tokoeka are threatened by habitat loss and invasive species, such as dogs, cats, and stoats.
In the Haast Kiwi Sanctuary, human beings place traps to catch stoats.<ref name=Doc />
==Breeding== The kiwi make nests in a hollow logs, cracks in rocks, or space dug out of the ground. The egg is large and pale green in color. The male and female kiwi both incubate the egg.<ref name=NZB />
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Birds of New Zealand}} {{Portal bar|Birds|New Zealand}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q108292140}}
Category:Ratites Category:Flightless birds Category:Birds of New Zealand Category:Apteryx