Kiwi (bird)

Kiwi
Temporal range: Miocene–Recent
North Island brown kiwi
(Apteryx mantelli)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Clade: Novaeratitae
Order: Apterygiformes
Haeckel, 1866
Family: Apterygidae
Gray, 1840[1]
Genus: Apteryx
Shaw, 1813[1]
Type species
Apteryx australis
Shaw, 1813[2]
Species

Apteryx haastii Great spotted kiwi
Apteryx owenii Little spotted kiwi
Apteryx rowi Okarito brown kiwi
Apteryx australis Southern brown kiwi
Apteryx mantelli North Island brown kiwi

The distribution of each species of kiwi
Synonyms[3]

Stictapteryx Iredale & Mathews, 1926
Kiwi Verheyen, 1960
Pseudapteryx Lydekker 1891

Kiwi (/ˈkiːwiː/ KEE-wee)[4] are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand of the order Apterygiformes. The five extant species fall into the family Apterygidae (/ˌæptəˈrɪdʒədiː/) and genus Apteryx (/ˈæptərɪks/).[5] Approximately the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are the smallest ratites (which also include ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries and the extinct elephant birds and moa).

DNA sequence comparisons have yielded the conclusion that kiwi are much more closely related to the extinct Malagasy elephant birds than to the moa with which they shared New Zealand.[6] There are five recognised species, four of which are currently listed as vulnerable, and one of which is near threatened. All species have been negatively affected by historic deforestation, but their remaining habitat is well protected in large forest reserves and national parks. At present, the greatest threat to their survival is predation by invasive mammalian predators.

The vestigial wings are so small as to be invisible under their bristly, hair-like, two-branched feathers. Kiwi eggs are one of the largest in proportion to body size (up to 20% of the female's weight) of any order of bird in the world.[7] Other unique adaptations of kiwi, such as short and stout legs and using their nostrils at the end of their long beak to detect prey before they see it, have helped the bird to become internationally well known.

The kiwi is recognised as an icon of New Zealand, and the association is so strong that the term Kiwi is used internationally as the colloquial demonym for New Zealanders.[8]

  1. ^ a b Brands, Sheila (14 August 2008). "Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification, Family Apterygidae". Project: The Taxonomicon. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ICZN1916 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Gill (2010). "Checklist of the birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica" (PDF) (4th ed.). Te Papa Press. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  4. ^ "kiwi". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020.
  5. ^ Davies, S.J.J.F. (2004). Grzimek's Animal Life Ecyclopedia (Vol 8: Birds1. 2nd ed.). Gale. p. 89.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mitchell2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Birds: Kiwi". San Diego Zoo. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  8. ^ "Kiwis/Kiwi – New Zealand Immigration Service (Summary of Terms)". Glossary.immigration.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2012.