February 2010 Kiwi News

Well we have news from our Project Manager Bridget Evans, on how our kiwis are doing out there:

There are six areas being monitored in Ohope Scenic Reserve, Mokorua and Kohi Point Reserves, Wainui, Moutohora, Omataroa and Waiotane.

Ohope Senic Reserve
We have 11 birds tagged here and all have been pinging regularly this last month.
We are monitoring 6 breeding males: Te Hau, Kahurangi, Mika, Two Toes, Big Al and Pouraiti.  We also have 5 juvies here - Kohi, Ohope, Tokamauku, Hawea and Whetu. Whetu was released at the beginning of January 2010, and Bridget tried to catch half way through February but unfortunately he was in gnarly swamp and eluded her.  They are all doing fine and its been a fairly quiet month.

Mokorua
Te Kauhore, the last kiwi to remain here  was found.  Four babies were realeased into the reserve: Wiremu, Noti, Marie and Koru.  They are going to be checked in March and Bridget has been using her dog 'Tai' to locate them.

Razorback Ridge
2 kiwis have pinged here in February.  Naomi was hiking back north and Ngahuia was also heading north.

Kohi Point
All birds here pinged each week in February.  7 kiwis are being monitored in this reserve.  Kohine and Kapua were released at the beginning of February and had their first health checks at the beginning of March.  They have put on at least 25gms and are doing well.  Kapu Te Rangi is very close to his original release site and had his transmitted changed to an adult one.  His current weight is 1330gms.  Te Whetu was also spotted but Ranginui seems to be eluding Bridget.  Whiuwhiu and Te Ra have both set up territories.

Wainui
Quiet month here and all 7 kiwis here are due for a transmitter change.

Waiotane
3 kiwi are being tracked here, and all have pinged regulary.  Morehu and Mauri are doing well, but there has been a concern over their weight gain at their last health check and their progress will be assessed in April.

Moutohora
5 birds are tagged here but not one has pinged in February.

Omataroa
7 kiwi are tagged here, but only 1 breeding male is being monitored. as 2 have lost their transmitters this season and 2 haven't bred. 5 eggs have been taken to Kiwi Encounter.

What is a Kiwi?

What is a Kiwi?


Kiwi are the smallest members of a group of birds called ratites, a group of flightless birds that includes rheas of South America, ostriches of Africa, emu of Australia, and cassowary of Papua New Guinea and the extinct moa of New Zealand.

External Features

The external features are the features of a kiwi that are most easily recognised are:

• flightless with only tiny wings

• no tail

• feathers very soft and hang loose, like hair

• extremely long bill with nostrils at the end

• legs are powerful and muscular

• fleshy footpads and a silent walk

Senses

Like humans, all animals have the senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. Kiwi have well developed senses for living in their environment.

• strong sense of smell due to very well developed olfactory lobe

• excellent hearing with large and visible ear openings

• cat-like whiskers on its face and around the base of its bill

• small eyes, can see well at night and in daylight too

Internal Features

The internal features are the features that cannot be easily seen. These can only be seen by xrays, ultrasound, or dissection.

• cone-shape skeleton, topped with a strong neck and a small head

• no keeled sternum to hold the flight muscles

• bones filled with marrow. Being flightless, bones do not have to be extra light

• large nasal cavities, for a greater sense of smell

• blood temperature is much lower than most other birds; between 37°C and 38°C

Behaviour

Kiwi build burrows in the ground that they sleep in. Kiwi have large territories and defend these by calling at important points. Kiwi can be good fighters, they can use their strong, solid legs and large claws.

At night, kiwi can be heard sniffing around in the dark and rustling leaves and twigs on the ground.

When danger is near a kiwi will sniff the air to sense whether they are safe. They are omnivores and locate their food by smell alone.

Kiwi usually mate for life. The female is bigger and dominates the male. Having one partner for life and the male sitting on the eggs is rare among birds. Kiwi can live as long as 40 to 50 years.


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Kiwi Facts

Here are some Quick facts about Kiwi's

-Originally it was thought that The Kiwi's came from its call, a kind of 'Creech' sound, but it is actually from the Polynesian name for the Bristled- Thighed Curlew, the Kivi.  This bird has the same way of feeding as the Kiwi.

-It has very strong legs for burrowing and ripping apart vegetation.  These are very different than other birds legs and more like mammals - even with bone marrow.

-The Kiwi cannot fly and live in burrows on the ground with quite a large wandering range.  Then can travel up to 1 km in a night.

-Its diet is mainly worms, spiders, bugs, grubs and fruit.  Captive bred Kiwi's are fed ox hearts.

-A Kiwi's egg is large compared with the size of its body (An egg averages 20% of the females weight, compared to 2% for an Ostrich).

-The female is larger than the male. In some varieties, mainly the North Island Brown, the males are the ones that sit on the egg.

-Kiwi's have a good sense of smell and have nostrils on the end of their beak, the only bird to have this.  The snuffling noise they make is them trying to smell for their food.

-The Kiwi belongs to a group of birds called Ratities of which is the smallest member. This group includes some of the worlds biggest birds like the Emu, Ostrich, as well the extinct Moa and the Elephant Birds of Madagascar.  Ratities have a different bone structure than most birds, with less developed flight muscles.

-It has an average body temperature of 38 degrees C, which is 2 degrees lower than other birds and two degrees higher than humans.  It is very similar to other small mammals.

Kiwi's are more like mammals than birds, which makes them unique and special.