Description
The Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) is a bird indigenous to New Zealand. It inhabits dense native forests, scrubland, and coastal areas of new zealand's north island.
Habitat
Extended Data
Taxonomy
Fun Facts
Kiwis are the only birds with nostrils at the tip of their beak, using an exceptional sense of smell to find underground insects
They lay the largest egg relative to body size of any bird — a kiwi egg is about 20% of the mother's body weight
Despite being birds, kiwis have more in common with mammals — they have bone marrow, whisker-like feathers, and poor eyesight but excellent hearing
The kiwi is New Zealand's national icon and the informal term for a New Zealander — it appears on coins, stamps, and the national rugby team emblem
Before human arrival, New Zealand had no land mammals — kiwis evolved to fill ecological niches that mammals occupy elsewhere