Kiwi

A. australis

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A. haastii

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A. owenii

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A kiwi is any of the species of small flightless birds native 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 ratites. Several kiwi species are endangered. The kiwi is also a national symbol for New Zealand.

Related Topics:
Flightless bird - New Zealand - Ratite - Endangered

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Prior to the arrival of humans in about 1300, New Zealand's only endemic mammals were three species of bat (the long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus) and two short-tailed bats (Mystacina robusta and M. tuberculata)). 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).

Related Topics:
1300 - Mammal - Bat - Ecological niche

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Kiwi are shy, nocturnal creatures with a highly developed sense of smell and, most unusual in a bird, nostrils at the end of their long bill. They feed by thrusting the bill into the ground in search of worms, insects, and other invertebrates; though they also take fruit and, if the opportunity arises, small crayfish, amphibians and eels.

Related Topics:
Nocturnal - Invertebrate - Crayfish - Amphibians - Eel

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After an initial meeting during mating season (June through March), kiwi usually live as monogamous couples. The pair will meet in the nesting burrow every few days and call to each other at night. These relationships have been known to last for up to 20 years. (Source: KiwiRecovery.org)

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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 egg. For its size, this is the biggest egg laid by a bird.

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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 kiwi than moa and the kiwi's closest relatives are the Emu and the cassowaries. This theory suggests that the kiwi's ancestors arrived in New Zealand from elsewhere in Australasia well after the moa.

Related Topics:
Moa - Ostrich - Emu - Cassowaries - Australasia

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According to British scientists, the kiwi may be an ancient import from Australia.

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Reasearchers of Oxford University have found DNA evidence connected to Australia's Emu and the Ostrich of Africa. Upon examining DNA from New Zeland's native moa, they believe that the kiwi is more closely related to its Australian cousins. (Source: News In Science)

Related Topics:
Oxford University - Emu - Ostrich - Moa

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