Save Kiwi Month is off to an adorable start as staff at Auckland Zoo welcome a newborn chick.

The dainty bird was born on Wednesday afternoon in an "assisted hatch" as the chick was in a "compromising position" with its legs over its head.

What makes this kiwi extra special is that it's the first kiwi to be hatched during 'Save Kiwi Month', a national fundraising campaign that takes place in October.

The chick is part of the zoo's 'Operation nest egg' project where they work to increase the kiwi population and is is the second to be hatched from the programme this season.

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Auckland Zoo works alongside the Department of conservation, Kiwis for kiwisand Thames coast kiwi care to increase the population of our national bird, which Auckland Zoo bird keeper Natalie Clark described as a "privilege".

"It's great to be involved in the direct conservation of our national icon.

"This is the 360th kiwi the zoo has hatched for the O.N.E program," Clark said.

Hatching the chick was a tricky business, after keepers realised the chick was moving a lot less inside the egg than it should.

Supplied The chick couldn't hatch itself so was supported by staff in what is called an "assisted hatch".

The vet and bird team had to perform a "little egg surgery" to help the kiwi get through by making a hole in the shell into the air cell and making an incision for the beak to fit through.

It takes around five days for a kiwi to break out of an egg, much longer than other birds due to kiwi bills lacking the 'egg teeth' used for shell cracking.

When it was time for the kiwi to be hatched the positioning inside the egg meant it couldn't use its legs to push its way out so resident vet Lydia Uddstrom and bird keeper Debra Searchfield had to physically break away the shell.

Supplied The sex of the tiny kiwi is not yet known.

"In the ideal world, we'd like them to be able to hatch on their own, but in special cases like this it's nice to be able to help them into the world. In this chick's case the assisted hatch went as smoothly as we could hope, but it's still early days and we will keep a close eye on it," said Uddstrom.

The sex of the kiwi is not yet known as the feathers need to be sent away for DNA testing.

Zoo staff will pick a name for the kiwi once it's sexed and they learn more about its personality.

Once the kiwi reaches 1.2kg it will be sent to a predator-free creche to mature and hopefully contribute to the kiwi population.

Information regarding Save Kiwi Month can be found on the Kiwis for kiwi website.