Stewart Island kiwi

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Stewart Island kiwi
Stewart Island kiwi, Otago Museum, 2016-01-29.jpg
Status NZTCS NE.svg
Nationally Endangered (NZ TCS) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Order: Apterygiformes
Family: Apterygidae
Genus: Apteryx
Species:
Subspecies:
A. a. lawryi
Trinomial name
Apteryx australis lawryi
Rothschild, 1893

The Stewart Island tokoeka (Apteryx australis lawryi), also called the Stewart Island kiwi, the Rakiura tokoeka, or the Rakiura kiwi, is a subspecies of southern brown kiwi endemic to New Zealand. Like other ratites, it is a flightless bird. [2] [3]

Contents

Appearance

The Stewart Island tokoeka is the largest type of southern brown kiwi. It has red-brown feathers that resemble fur. It has small wings and a long, curved bill. [2] The nostrils are at the end of the bill, not at the top near the rest of its face. Experts think the kiwi can smell very well. [4]

Habitat and family

A Stewart Island kiwi on a beach. DSC 9745 (10741132596).jpg
A Stewart Island kiwi on a beach.

About 20,000 Stewart Island tokoeka live on Stewart Island. Unlike other kiwis, they are diurnal rather than active only at night. [3]

Unlike other kiwis, the Stewart Island tokoeka is not solitary, instead living in family groups. The chicks remain with their parents for up to seven years, during which they take turns incubating their parents' younger eggs. Scientists believe this assistance by older siblings may be why kiwi parents sometimes have two clutches each year. [1] This kiwi also goes onto the beach to look for food, which most other kiwis do not do. [4] [5]

Threats

Invasive mustelids, such as stoats, never established themselves on Stewart Island to the same extent as in the rest of New Zealand. However, there are feral cats on Stewart Island, and they can be very large. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiwi (bird)</span> Order of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakiura National Park</span> National park in New Zealand

Rakiura National Park is a nature reserve park located on Stewart Island / Rakiura, New Zealand. It is the newest national park of New Zealand and opened in 2002. The protected area covers about 85% of the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiordland National Park</span> National park on South Island of New Zealand

Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering 12,607 km2 (4,868 sq mi), and a major part of the Te Wāhipounamu a UNESCO World Heritage Site established in 1990. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation. The southern ranges of the Southern Alps cover most of Fiordland National Park, combined with the deep glacier-carved valleys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulva Island (New Zealand)</span> Island in New Zealand

Ulva Island is a small island about 3.5 km (2.17 mi) long lying within Paterson Inlet, which is part of Stewart Island / Rakiura in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakiura Track</span> Hiking trail in New Zealand

The Rakiura Track is a 32-kilometre (20 mi) circular tramping track in Rakiura National Park on Stewart Island in New Zealand. It is one of the New Zealand Great Walks. Hikers often take three days to walk it, but it can be done in one or two days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern brown kiwi</span> New Zealand endemic bird species

The southern brown kiwi, tokoeka, or common kiwi is a species of kiwi from South Island of New Zealand. Until 2000 it was considered conspecific with the North Island brown kiwi, and still is by some authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great spotted kiwi</span> Species of flightless bird in New Zealand

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okarito kiwi</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Island brown kiwi</span> Species of bird

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 species. The eggs laid by the North Island Brown Kiwi are among the largest eggs relative to its body size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand dotterel</span> Species of bird

The New Zealand dotterel is a species of shorebird found only in certain areas of New Zealand. It is also called the New Zealand plover or red-breasted plover, and its Māori names include tūturiwhatu, pukunui, and kūkuruatu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-crowned parakeet</span> Species of bird

The red-crowned parakeet, also known as red-fronted parakeet and by its Māori name of kākāriki, is a small parrot from New Zealand. It is characterised by its bright green plumage and the red pattern on its head. This versatile bird can feed on a variety food items and can be found in many habitat types. It used to be classified as near threatened as invasive predators had pushed it out of its historical range but it is now at least concern. This species used to occupy the entire island, but is now confined to only a few areas on the mainland and some offshore islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Island giant moa</span> Extinct species of bird

The South Island giant moa is an extinct species of moa in the genus Dinornis, known in Māori by the name moa nunui. It was one of the tallest-known bird species to walk the Earth, exceeded in weight only by the heavier but shorter elephant bird of Madagascar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Island</span> New Zealands third largest island

Stewart Island is New Zealand's third-largest island, located 30 kilometres south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land area of 1,746 km2 (674 sq mi). Its 164-kilometre (102 mi) coastline is deeply indented by Paterson Inlet (east), Port Pegasus (south), and Mason Bay (west). The island is generally hilly and densely forested. Flightless birds, including penguins, thrive because there are few introduced predators. Almost all the island is owned by the New Zealand government, and over 80 per cent of the island is set aside as the Rakiura National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snares snipe</span> Species of bird

The Snares snipe, also known as the Snares Island snipe, or tutukiwi in Māori, is a species of bird in the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haast tokoeka</span> Species of kiwi

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast Wildlife Centre</span> Zoo in Franz Josef / Waiau

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.

The Fiordland tokoeka or Fiordland kiwi is a subspecies of southern brown kiwi. It is endemic to New Zealand. Like other ratites, it is flightless.

<i>Myosotis rakiura</i> Species of flowering plant

Myosotis rakiura is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, endemic to southern South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura of New Zealand. Joseph Beattie Armstrong described the species in 1881. Plants of this species of forget-me-not are perennial rosettes which form loose tufts or clumps, with ebracteate, erect inflorescences, and white corollas with exserted stamens.

References

  1. 1 2 "Tokoeka – literally meaning 'weka with a walking stick' (Ngāi Tahu) – has three geographically and genetically distinct forms: Haast, Fiordland, and Rakiura (Stewart Island)". New Zealand Department of Conservation . Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Southern Brown Kiwi". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Birds". Stewart Island Promotion Association. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  4. 1 2 Dominic Couzens (18 June 2015). Top 100 Birding Sites Of The World. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   9781472919854 . Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  5. Bette Flagler (2004). Adventure Guide to New Zealand. Hunter Publishing, Incorporated. ISBN   9781588435446 . Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  6. Erwin Brinkmann; Neville Peat (1992). Stewart Island: The Last Refuge. Random House New Zealand. p. 98. ISBN   9781869411657 . Retrieved 22 August 2021.