When do kiwis breed

They are unique in their small size and adaptations to forest floor life. These birds are roughly the size of a chicken, with the female being slightly larger.

They range in size from 45 to 54 cm long, and weigh from 2. They are brownish grey in color with long, soft feathers that look and feel very fur-like. Their skin is tough and they have whiskers at the base of their bill used for touch. This is especially important for these birds because they have small eyes and poor vision.

These birds do not have a tail and their 5 cm long wings prevent them from flying. Brown kiwis have powerful legs and can run quickly. The nostrils are at the end of their long bills and they have a keen sense of smell. The birds thrust their bill into the ground, gather the food, and beat the prey on the ground before they consume it. Other characteristics include heavy bone marrow, a body temperature lower than most other birds, and underdeveloped pectoral muscles.

Brown kiwis have body temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius. Brown kiwis meet in nesting burrows every few days and call to each other at night to begin mating. This ritual occurs between March and June.

The relationship is volatile and physical with the females primarily being the dominant one. Turbott and Keulemans, ; "wikipedia", ; "Willowbank", Brown kiwis breed throughout the year but only lay one egg at a time. A second egg might be laid four to six weeks after the first one.

The eggs are unique because of their size relative to the adult bird's mass. Brown kiwi eggs are one-third of the female's mass, making them the largest eggs relative to mass of any bird.

Incubation period lasts up to eleven weeks and the chicks are ready to leave the nest in approximately six to ten days. Females reach sexual maturity on average between the ages of three and five. Males reach this sexual maturity in approximately 18 months. Female brown kiwis dig out the nest and deposit the kiwi eggs, which are smooth and are either ivory or light green in color. After the eggs are laid, males take over incubation and nest maintenance until the eggs hatch.

During this time males lose one-third of their weight. After hatching, the chicks do not rely on parents for food. They survive from the copious amount of yolk in their belly.

Kiwi chicks venture out of the burrow soon after hatching, although there have been reports of chicks being near their parents for up to a year. Because kiwi chicks are slow, small weighting only grams and being five inches , and unable to respond to predators, few survive to twelve months old. After that time, they reach a size that enables them to escape most predators. The expected lifespan of brown kiwis after their first twelve months of their life is approximately 20 years in the wild.

When in captivity, these birds usually live to be 30 years old, but some have lived up to 40 years. Brown kiwis are described as "honorary mammals" because they have some characteristics that are similary to many mammals. They are nocturnal, rely heavily on a sense of smell, and have feathers that resemble fur. Brown kiwis are shy and mainly solitary, but they will travel in companies of six to twelve. They probe in the soil and leaf litter for insects, worms, spiders and native berries.

New leaf litter is brought into enclosures from forested areas each fortnight containing seasonal insects and berries that help to create variety in the kiwi diet. Logs filled with insect life are also brought in for the kiwi to rip into and explore.

Their favourite berries at present are Coprosma robusta berries which are high in caffeine - no wonder they are very active kiwi! We supplement the kiwi's daily diet with an artificial diet fed out to all kiwi in captivity. It is made with minced beef steak and ox heart , peas and corn, apples, pears and bananas, currants, a specific design of cat biscuits, wheatgerm, insect powder, CaCo3, corn and canola oil and a supplement called the 'Kiwi PreMix'. Our kiwi certainly dine well!

Brown Kiwi Apteryx mantelli - These are found in the North island of New Zealand and are isolated into different geographic regions called provenances; Northland, Coromandel, Eastern and Western brown kiwi. Little Spotted Kiwi Apteryx owenii - Found only on predator free islands like Kapiti Island and in predator free sanctuaries like Zealandia. Approximately 70, kiwi are left in the wild in New Zealand including off shore islands and predator controlled areas.

Kiwi are the only bird to have nostrils at the end of the beak. They also have sensory pits at the tip of the beak, allowing them to feel the vibrations of prey moving underground.

Kiwi have a shaggy plumage with hair-like feathers and cat-like whiskers on the face and around the base of the beak. These super-sensitive whiskers have probably evolved to help them feel their way in the dark and sense vibrations of prey.

Kiwi are generally nocturnal forest dwellers. During the day they sleep in burrows, hollow logs or under thick vegetation. Kiwi can sometimes be seen during the day if food is scarce or in times of drought. Kiwi have enormous eggs and one of the largest egg-to-body weight ratios of any bird. So how do they actually go about the process? The male strokes the female on her back near the base of her neck. She crouches down, stretches out her neck, and rests it on the ground.

The male then climbs onto the females back and balances, which can be quite difficult without wings and a tail. During the act, the female calls all the shots. If she gets bored or uninterested, she will flip off of her back and walk away, leaving the male embarased and undignified to find a different mate.

Although divorces are rare, they do happen on occasion. The pair mate for about 3 weeks before the egg is laid. The female Great Spotted Kiwi lays just 1 egg in a single breeding season.

Big ear openings provide a very good sense of hearing and the long graceful whiskers and sensitive bill help it locate food in the soil and leaf litter. Kiwi chicks are instinctive feeders and are not taught by parent birds to forage for food. The feather patterns allow kiwi to protect themselves by disappearing into the dark and fading into the forest vegetation. When distressed a kiwi freezes, disguising itself from aerial predators.

The kiwi is often given away by the sound of its uniquely placed 'noisy' nostrils at the tip of its bill. As it walks it taps the ground with its bill, probing the soil and sniffing loudly. Kiwi Facts. The kiwi is truly unique It is a bird, but it has features more characteristic of a mammal.