The Unique New Zealand Kiwi Bird

By Siena

I am learning to inform my audience through an information report



What is a native bird to New Zealand, that has wings but can not fly? Yes, a Kiwi. The common kiwi is the size of an average chicken, the female kiwi is often larger than the male kiwi. Commonly the kiwi is brown in colour and has wings, however these wings are not strong enough to lift the kiwi and make them fly. The kiwi is related to a group of larger flightless birds, such as the moa, emu and the ostrich. The kiwi however is the smallest flightless bird. Many years ago the population of kiwis was over 12 million, but now with many threats the kiwi population is less than 100,000 left. The kiwi is now endangered. With five different species of kiwi they can be found all across New Zealand from the top of the North Island all the way down to Stewart Island. In order to understand the kiwi, we need to have an understanding of their diet, and predators to ensure they are able to survive. Such as, their dietary needs.

Diet
Kiwi’s have a great range of food. From seeds to amphibians, kiwis are omnivores which means they eat both meat and plants. They eat invertebrates, grubs, berries, worms and leaves. They also don’t need to drink a lot of water because the worms provide 85% of the water kiwis need. Luckily New Zealand is rich in earthworms so they are easy to access and berries, amphibians, grubs and leaves are easy to find as well. However, they need to be cautious of predators at all costs.

Predators

A kiwi has many predators like dogs, cats , stoats, and weasels. These are all predators of the kiwi. But occasionally, wild pigs will hunt down kiwis as well.
Sadly the kiwi is not fast enough to run away from these predators and they also can’t fly because their wings aren’t strong enough. But the kiwi can run as fast as a man which is a great advantage but won’t help them as much in the wild.


In conclusion, it is important to know the kiwis diet like what they eat, what they are and what predators they have so that we can do everything we can to save them from going extinct. Overall, the kiwi bird of New Zealand is an extraordinary bird that needs our help and hopefully they will stay around in the future for many generations that pass by.