Physical Description
The kiwi bird
is a flightless bird, about the size of a chicken. It is nocturnal;
meaning it sleeps during the day and is active at nighttime. It has a
long beak that is one-third the length of its body, and its beak
actually has nostrils at the end. The kiwi is the only bird with this
feature. Another quirky feature of the kiwi is that it has no tail. It
has thick brown hair-like feathers. This bird has many physical
features unlike any other bird on earth. |
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Hunting/ Feeding Characteristics
With it's long beak, the kiwi digs up and chows on worms. A kiwi is
almost blind; it can see about six feet at night and around two feet
during the day, so when it comes to hunting the kiwi is not well
equipped. It used the nostrils on its beak to find its food and then
plucks up the worms with its beak. |
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Special Adaptations Kiwi birds have been called
a genetic leftover. Their characteristics seem very odd to us probably
due to the fact that they haven't evolved much at all. They are
suspected to be about 8 million years old. That's 7 million years older
than humans. Due to New Zealand's isolated environment, it has been
safe from predators and hasn't needed to do much adapting. They just
hang around.
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