Unique in its kind, kiwi bird lives only in New Zealand. She leads a very secretive lifestyle, which is why it is problematic to meet her in nature.
Kiwis are the only representatives of ratites, they are wingless and unable to fly. An adult is very small. The body of the bird is pear-shaped, the head is small, the neck is short. The weight of the animal is from 1, 5 to 4 kilograms. The kiwi bird has four-fingered powerful legs and a narrow long beak with nostrils at the tip. The tail is missing. The animal has large light brown or gray feathers resembling thick wool. All individuals of this species are nocturnal. They have a very developed sense of smell and hearing, and low vision.
Kiwi bird for its habitat chooses wet marshy evergreen forests. During the day, the animal hides under the roots of plants, in a hole or hollow. She carefully conceals the entrance to her home, covering it with twigs and leaves. Kiwi becomes aggressive at night. During the breeding season, the animal vehemently protects its territorial area (which in some cases occupies from 2 to 100 hectares) from competitors. Thanks to strong legs and a powerful kiwi beak, the bird can cause fatal injuries to the enemy. The individuals of this breed are very energetic, overnight they are able to go around the entire nesting area. The boundaries of its territorial zone are designated with the help of a scream, which is clearly audible at night even for several kilometers.
Birds begin to hunt thirty minutes after sunset. With their feet raking the sod, and deeply plunging the beak into it, they are using their sense of smell to search for their prey in the ground. They feed mainly on mollusks, insects, crustaceans, earthworms, fallen fruits and berries.
Kiwi is a monogamous bird, a pair is formed for 2-3 breeding seasons, and in some cases for life. Once every three days, the male and female meet in the nest, and at night they loudly call each other. The mating season usually lasts from June to March. 21 days after fertilization, a young female lays one fairly large egg weighing about 450 grams under the roots of a tree or in a hole. It has a white or greenish tint.
The egg is six times the size of a chicken and 65% consists of yolk. During its gestation, the female consumes three times more food than usual. Three days before laying, the bird stops eating, as the egg takes up a lot of space inside the body. It is interesting that the male is engaged in hatching offspring, leaving the nest exclusively for the duration of feeding. Some individuals are able to lay the next egg after 25 days.
Usually the incubation period is 80 days, in 2-3 days the chick is selected from the shell out. Young animals are born not with fluff, but with feathers. Immediately after hatching, adults leave the calf. The first days of life, the chick is still weakly kept on his feet, by the fifth day he is able to independently leave the shelter and look for food. The life expectancy of individuals of this breed is on average 50-60 years.
The kiwi bird, the photo of which is presented in this article, is an unofficial emblem of New Zealand. Its symbol is depicted on stamps, coins, souvenirs, etc. The animal is listed in the Red Book.