North Island Brown Kiwi

The North Island brown kiwi is a species of kiwi that is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island of New Zealand and, with about 35,000 remaining, it is the most common kiwi. It holds the world record for laying the largest eggs relative to its body size. Brown kiwi have an extremely varied diet that includes earthworms, beetles, snails, crayfish, insects, fruits and berries. They use their unique bill to sniff out food, as the bird forages by plunging it repeatedly into the leaf litter of the forest floor in search of prey. A kiwi is about the size of a chicken. There are five species. The largest is the northern brown kiwi, which grows up to 20 to 25 inches (50 to 65 centimeters) and weighs 3.2 to 11 lbs. (1.4 to 5 kilograms). They live in New Zealand and Australia; Brown Kiwis can grow to be about 16 inches long with a wingspan of up to 4 feet. Brown Kiwis mainly eat insects (including grasshoppers) and vegetation like flowers, nectar, fruit, berries, and leaves; North Island Brown Kiwi has feathers that act as insulation from cold weather. The northern brown kiwi has been moved from 'endangered' to 'vulnerable. ' Conservation efforts in New Zealand to save the flightless kiwi bird have paid off, with two species – the Northern brown and the rowi – no longer at a high risk of extinction.

Scientific name: Apteryx mantelli

Phylum: Chordata

Family: Apterygidae

Order: Apterygiformes