New Zealanders are often casually referred to as Kiwis, after the native bird. The kiwi became a national symbol in the 19th century when the kiwi was used in many regimental and military badges. It was during World War I that New Zealand soldiers became generally known as ‘kiwis’, and from there the use of the term spread to include all New Zealanders. Kiwi’s are also often used as a symbol for conservation.

There are five species of kiwi spread over New Zealand. What makes kiwi so unique is that they exhibit many characteristics that are more mammalian like than bird like. They have marrow in their bones; birds normally have hollow bones to decrease their weight, an adaptation for flying, however kiwi can not fly so do not need hollow bones. Their feathers look more fur like and are very soft, however they still have a feather structure. The females have two ovaries, just like mammals, birds normally only have one. And all kiwis’ have whiskers, like a cat. Another characteristic that adds to the kiwi’s weirdness is they are the only bird in the world to have their nostrils at the end of their beaks. The reason for this adaptation is that they use their great sense of smell to find insects by probing the ground. Kiwi will often make a sniffing noise, this is them blowing air out of their nostrils to clear them from dirt.

Another amazing feature of the kiwi is the size of their eggs. They lay the largest eggs in the world for size ratio between the egg and the bird. In fact near the time of laying the female stops eating, solely because there is not enough room to fit food inside, along with the massive egg. When kiwi hatch they already have a full set of feathers.

Kiwi are threatened by habitat loss and predation from pests, especially dogs and cats. O.N.E (Operation Nest Egg), is a conservation program for kiwi. One of the facilities that is involved in this program is Rainbow Springs in Rotorua. Here North Island brown kiwi eggs are brought in from the wild from DOC conservation workers and volunteers. The O.N.E team then incubate the eggs, and raise them after they have hutched, until they are 1kg in weight. When they reach this weight they are released back into the wild in the same place they were taken from. The juvenile kiwi’s aren’t released until they reach this weight, as at this size they stand a much higher chance at defending themselves against predators, such as rats, stoats and weasels. While in these facilities the juvenile kiwi are closely monitored and have weekly routine health checks.