Liam: The native New Zealand Kiwi Bird

The Iconic Bird, The Kiwi

By: Liam Mckinnel

Do you know what a New Zealand Kiwi is? If you guessed a kiwi fruit you are incorrect, but if you guessed the Kiwi bird you are 100% correct. The Kiwi is a native New Zealand bird, it is also the smallest flightless bird! You may think that there is only one type of kiwi but no, there are five different species of Kiwi. All Kiwis have a long beck. There nostrils are at the tip of the beck unlike most birds. The Kiwi has two legs like human but only have four toes not five, Three of their toes are located at the front, The fourth is on the side. The Kiwi has feather like all birds. They also have small wings on each side. The male Kiwi is smaller than a female. A Kiwi can run up to the speed of a human. The Kiwi is apoxalmenly the size of a chicken, even though the Kiwi is related to the Moa, Ostrich and Emu an those are some of the biggest bird. The Kiwi is basically blind so they rely on their sense of smell. The Kiwis diet is Extraordinary! 

The Kiwi eats almost everything! The Kiwi is a omnivore, so it eats plants and meat. The Kiwi loves to eat berries, grubes, small eel and crayfish, invertebrates and leaves. To get grubs and worms the Kiwi puts its long beak in the ground and attempted to get grubs and worms from the soil, if it gets no food it moves to a new location. In the place were the kiwi lives gives it a different diet.The diet depends on the habitat and where they live.

The Habitat is major for a Kiwi. It is there home and their protection. The Kiwis home can be all over New Zealand, from the South Island to the North Island. Kiwi need native forest, and are also found in scrub and rough farmland, exotic plantation forests, sand dunes and snow tussocks, even mangroves. They especially like places with wetland vegetation, but where they live has predators!

The kiwi has many predators too. All of predators of the Kiwi are wild pigs, wild dogs, stoats and cats. A predator is a animal that hunts them. The kiwi is protected so humans can’t kill them, if they do it is illegal. They kiwi is mostly hunted by cats. New Zealand is working to provide save habitats in order to protect the kiwi from their predators

As you can see the kiwi is an amazing bird that is truly valuable to New Zealand, as it is our native and iconic bird. There are many interesting and wonderful facts about the kiwi. In order to protect and to keep our native kiwi bird we must understand the diet needs, the importance of a habitat and those predators that threaten the kiwi. When we understand the kiwis needs we can makes sure the kiwi will continue to survive to remain our special native bird. animals. I hope you learnt something about Kiwis diet predators and habitat.