The kiwi is the national bird of New Zealand.

Meaning of scientific name
Apteryx = "wingless" or "without wings".

Subspecies
North Island brown kiwi and Okarita brown kiwi.

Life span
Kiwis in captivity have lived over 20 years.

Statistics
Weight: average female 2.8kg, average male 2.2kg. Height: about 40cm. Length: 45-55cm.

Physical description
Kiwis are about the size of a domestic chicken. They are flightless and have tiny, useless wings. They do not have a tail. All kiwis have coarse, bristly feathers. In the brown kiwi these feathers are a reddish-brown colour, streaked with darker brown and black, although the Okarita subspecies is more grey in colour. They have their nostrils at the tip of their long, slender beak, to help them smell food when they push their beak into the soil. Females have longer bills than males.

Distribution
The brown kiwi is found in the northern two thirds of North Island, New Zealand. The Okarita subspecies is found in forests north of Franz Joseph Glacier in South Island, New Zealand.

Habitat
The brown kiwi is a forest bird, inhabiting temperate forests and shrublands. They prefer wetter regions.

Diet
Kiwis eat all sorts of soil invertebrates, such as earthworms and insect larvae. They can catch surface invertebrates and will take small crayfish from pools. They also sometimes eat berries fruit, seeds and leaves.

Behaviour
The brown kiwi is nocturnal. They establish territories and live there throughout the year, maintaining their boundaries by calling to rivals and fighting with intruders.

Reproduction
The brown kiwi is monogamous, with long-lasting pair bonds. It breeds in late winter to summer. Nests are made in natural holes and hollow trees, in burrows dug by the male kiwi or under tree roots. Female kiwis lay very large eggs, which can be up to a quarter of their own body weight. The male takes over incubation after the females have laid the eggs.

Conservation status
Brown kiwis are listed as endangered.

Voice
The kiwi is so named because of the sound of its call

Notes
There are four species of kiwi – the brown, the little spotted, the great spotted and the Tokoeka.

Records
Kiwis are the smallest ratite birds - the group that contains the ostrich, emu and the extinct moa.