Kiwi Fact Sheet
Kiwi are unique! Find out about all their quirky characteristics and what makes them such a special bird.
There are five species of kiwi in Aotearoa. In Northland we have the North Island Brown Kiwi. Once declining at a fast pace, their numbers have now stabilised and are steadily increasing where there is good dog control and sustained pest control.
Kiwi have been described as the most un-birdlike bird in the world!
Kiwi are unique creatures – they are nocturnal, flightless and in some ways more like a mammal than a bird! They are only found in NZ.
They have unique characteristics including
Kiwi are unique! Find out about all their quirky characteristics and what makes them such a special bird.
What a gentleman! Watch as this kiwi pair return to their burrow. You can see the female in front (much longer bill), followed by the male, who waits patiently for her to enter the burrow before following her in. This wild pair live within the Puketotara Landcare area in the Bay of Islands, where regular predator control and a community committed to exemplary dog control, keep them safe. (Video: Jane Hutchings, Puketotara Landcare).
Kiwi Coast assists with the remote monitoring of 30 out of the estimated 10,000+ wild Northland brown kiwi across the region. These kiwi wear small leg-fitted radio transmitters that emit data about their activity, location and breeding. Telemetry equipment is used to pick up the data remotely, sometimes over 1km away.
Kiwi Coast also supports communities to translocate (‘release’) kiwi into pest controlled areas to foster new populations or boost an existing one. All kiwi released in Northland are fitted with transponders. These are tiny microchips, each with its own unique ID code, that can be “read” by an electronic device to identify the bird at anytime in the future. For example, in the event of a road casualty, we can determine if its a kiwi born in the wild or one that has been released, and if so where it was released and how far it has traveled during its lifetime.
Get to know wild, Northland kiwi. Become a kiwi sponsor and follow the lives and adventures of remotely monitored birds as they roam the region.
Where will they wander next…? Who will be first to find a mate? Or who seems content, enjoying a bachelor lifestyle on his private Tutukaka beach…? As a Follow the Kiwi Sponsor you will receive special news, updates, photos and event invites FIRST!
