The Kiwi

I am learning to inform my audience through an information report.

The Kiwi bird is a native icon to New Zealand. The unique adaptations of the kiwi, such as their large eggs, short and stout legs and using their nostrils at the end of their long beak to detect prey before they ever see it have helped the bird to become well-known to NZ. Kiwi are flightless birds because their Latin species name is Apteryx bird, which means wingless. There are five species of kiwi: North Island Brown Kiwi, Tokoeka, Rowi, Great Spotted Kiwi and Little Spotted Kiwi. Each species of kiwi live in different areas throughout New Zealand.

Where does the kiwi live? What is the needs of their habitat? A habitat is where animals live in order for all their needs to be met. The kiwi is very adaptable in the New Zealand climate. Kiwis don't need to live in a native forest, they can be found in scrub and rough farmland, exotic plantation forests, sand dunes and snowy tussocks, even mangroves. Kiwis build holes, borrows, dens and nests to keep away from their predators. But the kiwis favourite habitat is the the damp forest. Where they can find all sorts of different types of food.

The Kiwi is an omnivore, which means they eat plants and meat. Most of the kiwis food are invertebrates which means an animal without a backbone, like spiders, worms, cockroaches and lots more. Kiwis are also known to eat fungi, frogs and their favourite, the juicy earthworm. Luckily for the Kiwi there are a lot of worms here in New Zealand. But while the kiwi is out in search of their food, so are other animals that enjoy the kiwi as their favourite meal, the predators.

New Zealand had no warm-blooded mammal predators before the English came to New Zealand. Now the kiwi is very endangered, because of cats, stoats, possums, dogs and foxes. These are predators of the kiwi, and with the kiwi unable to fly and low to the ground, the kiwi is a target of these animals. The kiwi is nocturnal and partly blind so they rely on a lot of their other senses, they can hear about a meter away from where they are. The kiwi has very short and fast legs so it can run away from its predators. The kiwi is also able to use the physical adaptation of camouflage to hide from their predators.



To conclude the kiwi bird is a very extraordinary bird. It is exotic in every way, its long beak, its fast legs and the kiwis amazing hearing. People need to make changes and understand the requirements of the kiwi in order to protect them to ensure they live for many years to come.