9 December 2020

10 things you (probably) didn't know about kiwi

It’s our namesake and most iconic species but how much do you know about kiwi?

Here’s a few kiwi facts about this remarkable bird: 

1. Kiwi are the only bird in the world with nostrils at the end of their beak.
2. Unlike a lot of nocturnal animals kiwi can’t see very well. Instead they rely on their good sense of smell, hearing, and whiskers which help them feel their way around in the dark.
3. Kiwi are among the few species that tend to live as monogamous couples, and often mate for life.
4. Kiwi feathers are different to most bird feathers; they are fluffier and more like hair.
5. There are five species of kiwi: the tokoeka; the rowi; the roroa or great spotted kiwi; the pukapuka or little spotted kiwi, and the North Island brown kiwi.
6. They are four types of brown kiwi: the Northland brown kiwi, Coromandel brown kiwi, Western brown kiwi and Eastern brown kiwi.
7. Kiwi have one of the longest egg incubation periods in the bird world at around 80 days. A chicken egg only takes 21 days before it hatches.
8. Kiwi chicks emerge as exact miniatures of the parents and almost immediately can walk and forage for food. They’re never fed by their parents.
9. Kiwi lay one of the largest eggs in relation to their body size in the world.
10. Only around 5% of kiwi chicks hatched in the wild survive. By collecting kiwi eggs from the wild, hatching and caring for them for the first few weeks of their lives, at facilities like the Gallagher Insurance Kiwi Burrow, their chance of survival jumps from 5% to 65%. 

Gallagher is proud to partner with Save the Kiwi, the national charity working to ensure the survival of our most iconic bird.