Kiwi
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/* See also */ add Eponyms
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{{two other uses|the bird genus|the fruit|Kiwifruit}}
{{Taxobox
| name = Kiwi
| image = Karuwai at August 2005 Health Check.JPG
| image_width = 220px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Bird|Aves]]
| ordo = [[Struthioniformes]]
| familia = '''Apterygidae'''
| familia_authority = G.R. Gray, 1840
| genus = '''''Apteryx'''''
| genus_authority = [[George Shaw|Shaw]], 1813
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text.
}}
A '''kiwi''' is any of the species of [[flightless bird]]s endemic to [[New Zealand]] of the [[genus]] '''''Apteryx''''' (the only genus in family '''Apterygidae'''). At around the size of a domestic [[chicken]], kiwi are by far the smallest living [[ratite]]s. All kiwi species are [[endangered species|endangered]]. The kiwi is also a [[national symbol]] of New Zealand.
==Species==
Currently, there are five accepted species (one of which has four sub-species), plus one to be formally described.
* The largest species is the '''[[Great Spotted Kiwi]]''' or '''Roroa''', ''Apteryx haastii'', which stands about 45 cm (17.7 inches) high and weighs about 3.3 kg. (Males about 2.4 kg) It has grey-brown [[plumage]] with lighter bands. The female lays just one egg, with both sexes incubating. Population is estimated to be over 20,000, distributed through the more mountainous parts of northwest Nelson, the northern West Coast, and the Southern Alps.
* The very small '''[[Little Spotted Kiwi]]''', ''Apteryx owenii'' is unable to withstand predation by introduced pigs, [[stoat]]s and cats and is extinct on the mainland because of these reasons. About 1350 remain on Kapiti Island and it has been introduced to other predator-free islands and appears to be becoming established with about 50 'Little Spots' on each island. A docile bird the size of a [[bantam (chicken)|bantam]], it stands 25 cm (9.8 inches) high and the female weighs 1.3 kg. She lays one egg which is incubated by the male.
* The '''[[Rowi]]''', also known as the '''Okarito Brown Kiwi''' or ''Apteryx rowi'', is a recently identified species, slightly smaller, with a greyish tinge to the plumage and sometimes white facial feathers. Females lay as many as three eggs in a season, each one in a different nest. Male and female both incubate. Distribution of these kiwi are limited to a small area on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
* The '''[[Tokoeka]]''', ''Apteryx australis'', relatively common species of kiwi known from south and west parts of South Island that occurs at most elevations. It is approximately the size of the '''Great Spotted Kiwi''' and is similar in appearance to the '''Brown Kiwi''' but its plumage is lighter in colour.
** The '''Stewart Island Tokoeka''', ''Apteryx australis lawryi'', is a subspecies of '''Tokoeka''' from Stewart Island.
** The '''Haast Tokoeka''', ''Apteryx australis ?'', is the rarest species of kiwi with only about 300 individuals. It was identified as a distinct form in 1993. It only occurs in a restricted area in South Island's Haast Range at an altitude of 1,500 m. This form is distinguished by a more strongly downcurved bill and more rufous plumage.
** The '''Northern Fiordland Tokoeka''' ( ''Apteryx australis ?'') and '''Southern Fiordland Tokoeka''' (''Apteryx australis ?'') live in the remote southwest part of South Island known as [[Fiordland]]. These sub-species of Tokoeka are relatively common and are nearly 40 cm (16 inches) tall.
* The '''[[North Island Brown Kiwi]]''', ''Apteryx mantelli'' or ''Apteryx australis'' before 2000 (and still in some sources), is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island and, with about 35,000 remaining, is the most common kiwi. Females stand about 40 cm (16 inches) high and weigh about 2.8 kg, the males about 2.2 kg. The North Island Brown has demonstrated a remarkable resilience: it adapts to a wide range of habitats, even non-native forests and some farmland. The plumage is streaky red-brown and spiky. The female usually lays two eggs, which are incubated by the male.
[[Image:Apteryx owenii 0.jpg|thumb|200px|left|''Apteryx owenii'', the Little Spotted Kiwi]]
[[Image:NZ-kiwimap.png|thumb|200px|right|The distribution of each species of kiwi]]
Analysis of [[mitochondrial DNA]], [[ecology]], behaviour, [[Morphology (biology)|morphology]], geographic distribution and parasites of the North Island Brown Kiwi has led scientists to propose that the Brown Kiwi is three distinct species. The North Island Brown Kiwi; the Okarito Brown Kiwi (Rowi), whose distribution is restricted to a single site on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand; and a third distinct population of the North Island Brown Kiwi, the Southern Tokoeka, distributed in the in lowland forest to the north of [[Franz Josef glacier]] in the South Island and on [[Stewart Island]], with a small population near [[Haast]] being another possibly distinct species, the Haast Tokoeka.
===Etymology===
Kiwi {kē'wē Pr: kee-wee], is given as from the [[Māori language]] or '''Te Reo Māori''' (1825-35)<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Kiwi Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006]</ref> and as "of imitative origin" from the call.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Kiwi The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company]</ref>
==Behaviour and ecology==
Prior to the arrival of humans in the 13th century or earlier, New Zealand's only endemic [[mammal]]s were three species of [[bat]], and the [[ecological niche]]s 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).
Kiwi are shy and usually [[nocturnal]]. Their 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. Kiwi are creatures with a highly developed [[olfaction|sense of smell]], most unusual in a bird, and are the only birds with nostrils at the end of their long bill. 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 without actually seeing or feeling them.<ref>Because a bird's beak is generally measured from the tip to the nostril, this (technically) gives Kiwi the shortest beak of any bird.</ref>
[[Image:1898 kiwi 6d red.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Kiwi on 1898 New Zealand stamp.]]
Once bonded, a male and female kiwi tend to live their whole lives together 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>[http://www.kiwirecovery.org.nz/AboutTheBird/KiwiLifeCycle/Mating.htm KiwiRecovery.org]</ref> Kiwi eggs can weigh up to one quarter the weight of the female. Usually only one egg is laid per season. Although 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>{{cite web|url=http://www.savethekiwi.org.nz/AboutTheBird/KiwiLifeCycle/Producinganegg.htm|title=Producing an Egg|accessdate=2007-08-13}}</ref>
Their adaptation to a terrestrial life is extensive: like all [[ratites]] they have no keel on the breastbone to anchor wing muscles, and barely any wings either: the vestiges are so small that they are invisible under the kiwi's bristly, hair-like, two-branched feathers. While birds generally have hollow bones to save [[weight]] and make flight practicable, kiwi have marrow, in the style of mammals. With no constraints on weight from flight requirements, some Brown Kiwi females carry and lay a single 450 [[gram|g]] [[Egg (biology)|egg]].
It was long presumed that the kiwi's closest relatives were the other New Zealand ratites, the [[moa]]. However recent [[DNA]] studies indicate that the [[Ostrich]] is more closely related to the [[moa]] and the kiwi's closest relatives are the [[Emu]] and the [[cassowary|cassowaries]]. This theory suggests that the kiwi's ancestors arrived in New Zealand from elsewhere in [[Australasia]] well after the [[moa]]. According to British scientists, the kiwi may be an ancient import from Australia. Researchers of [[Oxford University]] have found [[DNA]] evidence connected to Australia's [[Emu]] and the [[Ostrich]] of Africa. Upon examining [[DNA]] from New Zealand's native [[moa]], they believe that the kiwi is more closely related to its Australian cousins.<ref> [http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s243830.htm News In Science]</ref>
[[Image:TeTuatahianui.jpg |thumb|North Island Brown Kiwi]]
==Discovery and documentation==
The first kiwi specimen to be studied by Europeans was a kiwi skin brought to [[George Shaw]] by Captain Andrew Barclay aboard the ship ''Providence'', who was reported to have been given it by a sealer in [[Sydney Harbour]] around 1811. George Shaw gave the kiwi its scientific name and drew sketches of the way he imagined a live bird to look which appeared as plates 1057 and 1058 in volume 24 of ''The Naturalist's Miscellany'' in 1813.
==See also==
* [[Aroha Island]]
* [[Bulford Kiwi]] a giant chalk Kiwi carved into a hillside in England by Kiwi Troops waiting to go home at the end of WW1. It's still there today
*[[Eponyms of the kiwi]] for the many things named after the bird
==References==
<references />
* ''Bizarre and Beautiful Noses''. Sante Fe, New Mexico: John Muir Publications, 1993.
* 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):167-177
* Cooper, Alan et al (2001). Complete mitochondrial genome sequences of two extinct moas clarify ratite evolution. ''Nature'', '''409''': 704-707.
* [http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s243830.htm News In Science]
* [[NHNZ]] has made a 60 minute television documentary called ''Kiwi a Natural History'', produced in 1991.
==External links==
{{commonscat|Apterygidae}}
* [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Apteryx_haastii/ Great Spotted Kiwi] - ARKive
* [http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/podcover.aspx?id=32863 Kiwi: New Zealand Department of Conservation]
* {{cite web | url = http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/TSRP50.pdf | title = Kiwi (''Apteryx'' spp.) recovery plan 1996–2006. (Threatened Species Recovery Plan 50)| author = H.A. Robertson | year = 2003 | publisher = Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand | accessdate = 2007-09-19}}
* [http://www.savethekiwi.org.nz/ Save The Kiwi] (formerly Kiwi Recovery)
* [http://www.willowbank.co.nz/kiwi.asp Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, Christchurch, New Zealand]
* [http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/KHA_KRI/KIWI.html Online Encyclopedia entry "Kiwi"]
* [http://www.terranature.org/kiwi1.htm TerraNature pages on kiwi]
* [http://www.kiwinewz.com/html/losewing.htm How the Kiwi Lost his Wings] (a Maori legend)
[[Category:Apterygidae|*]]
[[Category:Apteryx|*]]
[[Category:Flightless birds]]
[[Category:Heraldic birds]]
[[Category:Higher-level bird taxa restricted to New Zealand]]
[[Category:Māori words and phrases]]
[[Category:Birds of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Ratites]]
[[Category:National symbols of New Zealand]]
[[ar:كيوي (طائر)]]
[[ca:Kiwi (ocell)]]
[[cs:Kiviové]]
[[cy:Kiwi]]
[[da:Kiwier]]
[[de:Kiwis]]
[[es:Apteryx]]
[[eo:Kivio]]
[[fa:کیوی (پرنده)]]
[[fr:Apterygidae]]
[[ko:키위]]
[[id:Kiwi]]
[[it:Apteryx]]
[[he:קיווי (עוף)]]
[[hu:Kivifélék]]
[[ml:കിവി]]
[[mi:Kiwi]]
[[ms:Burung Kiwi]]
[[nl:Kiwi's]]
[[ja:キーウィ (鳥)]]
[[no:Kivier]]
[[pl:Kiwi]]
[[pt:Quivi]]
[[ru:Киви (птица)]]
[[simple:Kiwi]]
[[sk:Kiviovité]]
[[sl:Kivi (žival)]]
[[fi:Kiivit]]
[[sv:Kivier]]
[[te:కివి]]
[[tr:Kivi (kuş)]]
[[wa:Kiwi (oujhea)]]
[[yi:קיווי]]
[[zh:鷸鴕]]