North Island brown kiwi | |
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North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) | |
Male song | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Infraclass: | Palaeognathae |
Order: | Apterygiformes |
Family: | Apterygidae |
Genus: | Apteryx |
Species: | A. mantelli |
Binomial name | |
Apteryx mantelli Bartlett, AD, 1852 [2] | |
The distribution of North Island brown kiwi | |
Synonyms | |
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The North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli; Apteryx australis or Apteryx bulleri [5] as before 2000, still used in some sources) 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, [2] it is the most common kiwi. It holds the world record for laying the largest eggs relative to its body size. [6]
The genome of Apteryx mantelli was sequenced in 2015. [7]
Until 2000, the brown kiwi (then Apteryx australis) was thought to include the rowi and the tokoeka, in addition to the North Island brown kiwi. However using genetic codes from each of the above it was determined that the tokoeka was a separate species, it took the Apteryx australis name, leaving the brown kiwi with its current Apteryx mantelli name. Soon after, in 1998, more genetic tests were done with the rowi and it was determined that it (the rowi) was a separate species (Apteryx rowi). In 2004 an injured bird was found with streaked white around the head and identified by Massey University. [8] The white feathering is likely due to a rarely seen genetic variation sometimes described as a partial albino. Few documented cases exist with only a painting of one found in Ōtorohanga in the 18th century and a specimen in the Canterbury Museum. The injured bird recovered and was introduced into a breeding programme.
The brown kiwi was first described as Apteryx australis by Abraham Dee Bartlett, in 1813, based on a specimen from Dusky Sound, South Island, New Zealand. [9] This is a monotypic species. [10]
Location | Population | Date | Trend |
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North Island [11] | 24550 | 2016 | Increasing |
Little Barrier Island [2] | 1000 | 1996 | Stable |
Ponui Island [12] | 2000 (*Hybrid) | 2024 | Increasing |
Kapiti Island [11] | unknown | Stable? | |
Kawau Island [2] | unknown | Stable? | |
Total (New Zealand) | 35,000 [13] | 2015 | Decreasing -2% yr [11] |
Brown kiwi are found in a number of parts of the North Island, including Northland, Coromandel Peninsula, the eastern North Island, Aroha Island, Little Barrier Island, Kawau Island, Ponui Island, and the Whanganui Region. The North Island brown kiwi has demonstrated a remarkable resilience: it has adapted to live on scrub-like farm land, exotic pine plantations, and native forests, but it prefers dense sub-tropical and temperate forest. [2]
Females stand about 40 cm (16 in) high and weigh about 2.8 kg (6.2 lb) the males about 2.2 kg (4.9 lb). The plumage is streaky red-brown and spiky. The North Island brown kiwi is the only species of kiwi found internationally in zoos.[ citation needed ]
These kiwi, like all kiwi, feed on invertebrates. They have 2–3 clutches a year with 2 eggs in each clutch. Chicks are fully feathered at hatching and are precocial, being able to leave the nest and fend for themselves within a week. [2]
The North Island brown kiwi is Vulnerable, per the IUCN Red List, [1] with the major threat coming from predators, such as dogs, cats, and stoat (Mustela erminea). 94% of chicks die before breeding in areas where mammalian pest control is not carried out. [2] It has an occurrence range of 38,400 km2 (14,800 sq mi), with a population, estimated in 2000, of 35,000. [2]
In 1996 there were around 35,000 North Island brown kiwi and in 2006 there were 20,000. [14]
Nationwide studies show that on average only 5 percent of kiwi chicks survive to adulthood. However, in areas under active pest management, survival rates for North Island brown kiwi can be far higher. For example, prior to a joint 1080 poison operation undertaken by DOC and the Animal Health Board in Tongariro Forest in 2006, 32 kiwi chicks were radio-tagged. 57% of the radio-tagged chicks survived to adulthood. Thanks to ongoing pest control, the adult kiwi population at Tongariro has almost doubled since 1998.[ citation needed ]
In 2006, kiwi were released into Remutaka Forest Park by the Remutaka Conservation Trusts. As of 2024, the population has reached 300 individuals in the park and surrounding areas, extending to Upper Hutt and Whitemans Valley. [15]
In 2022, 11 North Island brown kiwi were released on Wellington's South Coast after a 100 year absence. [16] Fifty more kiwi were released into the hills of Wellington in May 2023. [17]
Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand of the order Apterygiformes. The five extant species fall into the family Apterygidae and genus Apteryx. Approximately the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are the smallest ratites.
Flightless birds have, through evolution, lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species, including the well-known ratites and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail. The largest flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird in general, is the common ostrich.
The southern brown kiwi, tokoeka, or common kiwi is a species of kiwi from South Island, New Zealand. Until 2000 it was considered conspecific with the North Island brown kiwi, and still is by some authorities.
The great spotted kiwi, great grey kiwi or roroa is a species of kiwi endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. The great spotted kiwi, as a member of the ratites, is flightless. It is the largest of the kiwi. The rugged topography and harsh climate of the high altitude alpine part of its habitat render it inhospitable to a number of introduced mammalian predators, which include dogs, ferrets, cats, and stoats. Because of this, populations of this species have been less seriously affected by the predations of these invasive species compared to other kiwi. Nonetheless, there has been a 43% decline in population in the past 45 years, due to these predators and habitat destruction. This has led it to be classified as vulnerable. There are less than 16,000 great spotted kiwis in total, almost all in the more mountainous parts of northwest Nelson, the northwest coast, and the Southern Alps. A minority live on island reserves.
The little spotted kiwi or little grey kiwi is a small flightless bird in the kiwi family, Apterygidae. It is the smallest of the five kiwi species, at about 0.9 to 1.9 kg, about the size of a bantam. It is endemic to New Zealand, and in pre-European times occurred in both main islands, but is now restricted to a number of small offshore islands, and mainland reserves protected by pest-exclusion fences. The little spotted kiwi was on the brink of extinction when a conservation effort took place 100 years ago. Five individuals were translocated from the South Island of New Zealand to Kapiti Island. Today, the Kapiti Island population has grown, with around 1200 birds.
The Okarito kiwi, also known as the rowi or Okarito brown kiwi, is a member of the kiwi family Apterygidae, described as new to science in 2003. The species is part of the brown kiwi complex, and is morphologically very similar to other members of that complex. It is found in a restricted area of the Ōkārito forest on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, and has a population of only about 600 birds.
The bush moa, little bush moa, or lesser moa is an extinct species of moa from the family Emeidae endemic to New Zealand.
The puna tinamou also known as Pentland's tinamou, is a member of the most ancient groups of bird families, the tinamous. This species is native to southern South America. The binomial name of the species commemorates the Irish natural scientist Joseph Barclay Pentland (1797–1873) by Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1837. The IUCN list this species as Least Concern, with an occurrence range of 590,000 km2 (230,000 sq mi).
The birds of New Zealand evolved into an avifauna that included many endemic species found in no other country. As an island archipelago, New Zealand accumulated bird diversity, and when Captain James Cook arrived in the 1770s he noted that the bird song was deafening.
Remutaka Forest Park is a protected area near Wellington, New Zealand. Popular access points are south of Wainuiomata and in the upper Hutt Valley. The park covers 220 square kilometres (85 sq mi), encompassing the Catchpool Valley and the Ōrongorongo Valley at the southern end of the Remutaka Range. Established in 1972, the park contains several short walks and six huts that can be booked and accessed by longer bush tramps. The park is one part of several local conservation areas, as it borders the Pakuratahi Forest and the Tararua Range.
Mantell's moa also known as Mappin's moa or moa ruarangi is an extinct species of moa from the North Island of New Zealand. Its habitat was the lowlands. The moa were ratites, flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate. The origin of the ratites is becoming clearer as it is now believed that early ancestors of these birds were able to fly and flew to the southern areas that they have been found in.
A. australis may refer to:
The Haast tokoeka or Haast kiwi is a putative subspecies of the southern brown kiwi. It is one of the rarest kiwi in New Zealand. Like other kiwi, this bird is flightless.
The West Coast Wildlife Centre is a kiwi-rearing facility in Franz Josef, New Zealand. A public-private partnership with the Department of Conservation and Te Rūnunga o Makaawhio of Ngāi Tahu, it hatches eggs of the kiwi species rowi and Haast tokoeka retrieved from the wild. It rears the chicks until they are large enough for transfer to outdoor enclosures as part of Operation Nest Egg. More than 50 per cent of all living rowi were hatched at the Wildlife Centre. It is also a tourist attraction with several captive tuatara, museum displays, and tours of the rearing facility.
Apteryx littoralis is an extinct species of kiwi from New Zealand's North Island. The species was first described in 2021 based on the holotype, a complete left tarsometatarsus that was found in the Pleistocene (Calabrian)-aged Rangitikei Formation.
Wainuiomata Water Collection Area is a reserve located near Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt in the Wellington Region at the southern end of New Zealand's North Island. It is administered by Wellington Regional Council, for exclusive use by Wellington Water as a water catchment reserve. The park covers the catchments of the Wainuiomata River and the Ōrongorongo River. It adjoins Remutaka Forest Park and Wainuiomata Regional Park.
The lesser moa were a family in the moa order Dinornithiformes. About two-thirds of all moa species are in the lesser moa family. The moa were ratites from New Zealand. Ratites are flightless birds with a sternum without a keel. They also have a distinctive palate. The origin of the ratites is becoming clearer as it is now believed that early ancestors of these birds were able to fly and flew to the southern areas that they have been found in.
Ixodes anatis, also called the kiwi tick, is a species of tick in the arthropod family Ixodidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and mainly parasitizes kiwi.
Isabel Castro is professor of wildlife biology at Massey University in New Zealand. Her research focuses on conservation biology, primarily of birds and native ecosystems, but also including invertebrates and introduced mammals. She is a principal investigator in the Te Pūnaha Matatini Centre of Research Excellence.