North Island Brown Kiwi
Encyclopedia
The North Island Brown Kiwi, Apteryx mantelli, Apteryx australis or Apteryx bulleri before 2000 (and still 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 35000 remaining, is the most common kiwi.
, 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. 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 Otorohanga
in the 18th century and a specimen in the Canterbury Museum
. The injured bird recovered and was introduced into a breeding program
me.
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
. This is a monotypic species.
, occurring near Northland, Coromandel
, Eastern North Island, Aroha Island
, Little Barrier Island, Kawau Island
, Ponui Island
, and Wanganui Region. The North Island Brown Kiwi has demonstrated a remarkable resilience: it has adapted to live on scrub-like farm land, pine (an introduced tree) plantations, and their native forests, but it still prefers dense, sub-tropical and temperate forest
.
is streaky red-brown and spiky. The North Island Brown Kiwi is the only species of kiwi found internationally in zoo
s.
a year with 2 eggs
in each clutch. Chicks are fully feathered at hatching and leave the nest
and can fend for themselves within 1 week.
Nationwide studies show that on average only 5 per cent 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.
Kiwi
Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...
that is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and, with about 35000 remaining, is the most common kiwi.
Taxonomy
Until 2000, the Brown Kiwi (then Apteryx australis) was thought to include the Rowi and the TokoekaTokoeka
The Southern Brown Kiwi, Tokoeka, or Common kiwi, Apteryx australis, is a species of kiwi from New Zealand's South Island. Until 2000 it was considered conspecific with the North Island Brown Kiwi, and still is by some authorities.-Taxonomy:...
, 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
Molecular phylogeny
Molecular phylogenetics is the analysis of hereditary molecular differences, mainly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. The result of a molecular phylogenetic analysis is expressed in a phylogenetic tree...
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. 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 Otorohanga
Otorohanga
Otorohanga is a north King Country town at the southern end of the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 53 kilometres south of Hamilton and 18 kilometres north of Te Kuiti, on the Waipa River...
in the 18th century and a specimen in the Canterbury Museum
Canterbury Museum
The Canterbury Museum is a museum located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand in the city's Cultural Precinct.The museum was established in 1867 and has since grown in size to encompass New Zealand's diverse natural and human heritage...
. The injured bird recovered and was introduced into a breeding program
Breeding program
Breeding programs help animals to breed and can be good for animals as well as the agricultural economy.A breeding program is the planned breeding of a group of animals or plants, usually involving at least several individuals and extending over several generations...
me.
The Brown Kiwi was first described as Apteryx australis by Abraham Dee Bartlett
Abraham Dee Bartlett
Abraham Dee Bartlett was a British zoologist.Bartlett had a small natural history shop near to the British Museum where he sold the products of his taxidermy business....
, in 1813, based on a specimen from Dusky Sound
Dusky Sound
Dusky Sound is a fiord on the south west corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park.-Geography:One of the most complex of the many fjords on this coast, it is also one of the largest, 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wide at its widest point...
, South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. This is a monotypic species.
| Location | Population | Date | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Island North Island The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island... |
2500 | 2008 | Decreasing -4% yr |
| Little Barrier Island | 2500 | 1996 | Stable |
| Ponui Island Ponui Island Ponui Island, also known as Chamberlin's Island, is located in the Hauraki Gulf, to the east of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located to the southeast of Waiheke Island, at the eastern end of the Tamaki Strait, which separates the island from the Hunua Ranges on the mainland to the... |
Stable | ||
| Kapiti Island Kapiti Island -External links:* , Department of Conservation* * , Nature Coast Enterprise *... |
Stable | ||
| Kawau Island Kawau Island Kawau Island is an island in the Hauraki Gulf, close to the north-eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. At its closest point it lies off the coast of the North Auckland Peninsula, just south of Tawharanui Peninsula, and about by sea journey from Sandspit Wharf, and shelters Kawau Bay... |
Stable | ||
| Total (New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... ) |
5000 | 1996 | Decreasing -2% yr |
Range and habitat
Brown Kiwi are found throughout the North IslandNorth Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
, occurring near Northland, Coromandel
Coromandel, New Zealand
Coromandel is the name of a town and harbour on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula, which is on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand...
, Eastern North Island, Aroha Island
Aroha Island
Aroha Island is a small island near Rangitane, which is about by road from Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands, Northland, New Zealand. It is owned and managed by the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust and is a major habitat for the North Island Brown Kiwi. It is linked to the mainland via a causeway....
, Little Barrier Island, Kawau Island
Kawau Island
Kawau Island is an island in the Hauraki Gulf, close to the north-eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. At its closest point it lies off the coast of the North Auckland Peninsula, just south of Tawharanui Peninsula, and about by sea journey from Sandspit Wharf, and shelters Kawau Bay...
, Ponui Island
Ponui Island
Ponui Island, also known as Chamberlin's Island, is located in the Hauraki Gulf, to the east of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located to the southeast of Waiheke Island, at the eastern end of the Tamaki Strait, which separates the island from the Hunua Ranges on the mainland to the...
, and Wanganui Region. The North Island Brown Kiwi has demonstrated a remarkable resilience: it has adapted to live on scrub-like farm land, pine (an introduced tree) plantations, and their native forests, but it still prefers dense, sub-tropical and temperate forest
Temperate forest
Temperate forests correspond to forest concentrations formed in the northern hemisphere. Main characteristics include: wide leaves, big and tall trees and non seasonal vegetation...
.
Description
Females stand about 40 cm (15.7 in) high and weigh about 2.8 kg (6.2 lb) the males about 2.2 kg (4.9 lb). The plumagePlumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is streaky red-brown and spiky. The North Island Brown Kiwi is the only species of kiwi found internationally in zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
s.
Behaviour
These kiwi, like all kiwi, feed on invertebrates. They have 2-3 clutchesClutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
a year with 2 eggs
Bird egg
Bird eggs are laid by females and incubated for a time that varies according to the species; a single young hatches from each egg. Average clutch sizes range from one to about 17...
in each clutch. Chicks are fully feathered at hatching and leave the nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
and can fend for themselves within 1 week.
Conservation
The North Island Brown Kiwi is endangered, per the IUCN Redlist, 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. It has an occurrence range of 38400 km² (14,826.3 sq mi), with a population, estimated in 2000, of 35,000.Nationwide studies show that on average only 5 per cent 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
Animal Health Board (New Zealand)
The Animal Health Board commonly known by its acronym, AHB, is an incorporated society, legally responsible for managing and implementing the National Pest Management Strategy for bovine tuberculosis in New Zealand. Its powers derive from the Biosecurity Act 1993 and its mission is to eradicate...
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.