It was thought until 1995 that New Zealand had three species of kiwi: the great spotted kiwi,
little spotted kiwi, and the brown kiwi. It is now established that we also have the rowi kiwi, Haast
tokoeka kiwi, Northern Fiordland tokoeka kiwi, Southern Fiordland tokoeka kiwi and the Stewart
Island tokoeka kiwi. This discovery will present new challenges to establish
the kiwi numbers, monitor populations, and protect them.
The
kiwi is the only bird to have nostrils at the end of its beak which it uses to
find food detected by smell alone. This is unusual for a bird. Also unusual for a bird is that the kiwi's leg bones are
full of marrow. Most bird's legs are filled
with hollow honeycomb segments to minimise weight for flight. |
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