The unique kiwi bird lives only in New Zealand. She leads a very secretive lifestyle, which is why meeting her in nature is problematic.
Kiwis are the only representatives of ratites, they are wingless and unable to fly. The 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 powerful four-fingered 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 strong sense of smell and hearing, and poor eyesight.
The kiwi bird chooses wet swampy evergreen forests for its habitat. During the day, the animal hides under the roots of plants, in a hole or hollow. She carefully masks the entrance to her dwelling, covering it with twigs and leaves. Kiwi becomes aggressive at night. During the mating season, the animal vehemently defends its territorial area (which in some cases occupies from 2 to 100 hectares) from competitors. Thanks to the strong legs and powerful beak of the kiwithe bird can cause fatal injuries to the enemy. Individuals of this breed are very energetic, during the night they are able to bypass the entire nesting area. Kiwis mark the boundaries of their territorial zone with a call that can be clearly heard at night even for several kilometers.
Birds begin to hunt thirty minutes after sunset. Raking the turf with their feet, and plunging their beak deep into it, they use their sense of smell to look 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 mating 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 to each other. The mating season usually lasts from June to March. 21 days after fertilization, the young female lays one rather large egg weighing about 450 grams under the roots of a tree or in a hole. It has a white or greenish tint.
An egg is six times the size of a chicken egg and contains 65% yolk. During the period of 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 incubation of the offspring, leaving the nest only for the time 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 shellout. Young growth is born not with fluff, but with feathers. Immediately after hatching, the adults leave the young. In the first days of life, the chick is still weak on its feet; by the fifth day, it 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 the unofficial emblem of New Zealand. Her symbol is depicted on postage stamps, coins, souvenirs, etc. The animal is listed in the Red Book.
