Conserving our native kiwi
The kiwi is New Zealand’s most iconic bird – we even call ourselves Kiwis – yet all kiwi species are threatened and require ongoing action to ensure we do not lose these precious taonga.
Kiwi pukupuku
Little spotted kiwi or kiwi pukupuku in forest.
Most of us know that our endemic kiwi have evolved to be nocturnal and flightless. Many know that, out of all birds, a female kiwi lays the largest egg in proportion to its size, up to 20% of the female’s weight. Some know that (technically) kiwi have the shortest beak of any bird – a bird’s beak is generally measured from the tip to the nostril, and kiwi nostrils are at the end of their long bill. These facts and more make them a very unique species, not just to New Zealanders but around the world.
The kiwi is one of the strangest of birds. It sleeps underground and usually only comes out at night but most remarkable of all, it lays the biggest egg of any bird and when she lays it, it's equivalent in terms of weight to human mother giving birth to a four-year-old child!
Food
Kiwi use their bill to hunt out their food – mostly small invertebrates, especially earthworms and the larvae of beetles, cicadas and moths. They also eat centipedes, spiders, crickets and wētā. Sometimes fallen fruit and leaves are also eaten. The whiskers at the end of their bill help them with nocturnal navigation, and they have an excellent sense of smell. Kiwi also have a unique organ in the tip of their bill that can detect vibrations of insects up to a few centimetres deep in the soil.
Plumage
As they do not fly, kiwi feathers are different to other birds as they have adapted to suit a ground-based life. The feathers are warm, shaggy and hair-like, hang loose and are much fluffier. Their plumage provides them with good camouflage, allowing them to blend with the undergrowth in the forest. This protects them from predators finding them by sight – but unfortunately is no good against any predator with a good sense of smell. The various species of kiwi have different colouration and patterns to suit their own environment.
North Island brown kiwi
North Island brown kiwi, close up of head and bill, Little Barrier Island, 1974.
Different species
It was only in the early 1990s that additional species of kiwi were recognised – instead of three we had five. Genetic research by Professor Allan Baker found that the brown kiwi is actually three different species – the North Island brown, the Ōkārito brown or rowi and the southern brown or tokoeka. They are all physically similar, but they are genetically different. Ongoing research into the DNA of kiwi suggests that there could be even more kiwi species – maybe 11. Learn more about the five recognised species in this article.
Haast tokoeka kiwi
Haast tokoeka kiwi (Apteryx australis) being held by Department of Conservation staff Phil Tisch with a male kiwi (left) and Paul van Klink with a female (right). The Haast tokoeka is one of the rarest kiwis in existence, with only about 300-400 left in the wild.
Threats to kiwi
Kiwi evolved in an environment free of predators. They lost the ability to fly, and they adapted to nesting in burrows on the ground. Although they have a very good sense of smell and touch, their vision is very poor. When humans arrived and introduced mammals to Aotearoa New Zealand, the kiwi and their eggs were easy prey for rats, stoats, weasels, dogs, cats, possums, wild pigs and more. Early settlers cleared much of the forest areas, decreasing the kiwi’s habitat
To ensure ongoing survival of kiwi, human assistance is required. One of the most successful interventions to date is the development of offshore and mainland sanctuaries. Ecological sanctuaries provide a safe environment with strict predator control, habitat protection and restoration as well as programmes such as Operation Nest Egg.
Rowi survival rates
Department of Conservation figures clearly show why kiwi species such as rowi need active conservation management. In the wild, only two chicks per year are expected to survive if left to fend for themselves.
Conservation efforts at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve
Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch is one of the organisations in New Zealand involved in the conservation and management of many of New Zealand’s endangered species, including the kiwi. The Kiwi Breeding Centre staff work in close association with the New Zealand Conservation Trust and the Department of Conservation (DOC) as part of the kiwi captive-rearing programme Operation Nest Egg. Operation Nest Egg is a programme that increases survival of kiwi by removing eggs from the wild, and hatching and rearing chicks in captivity, before releasing them again at a 'predator-proof' size.
DOC staff involved with Operation Nest Egg use transmitters that are attached to male kiwi – to locate breeding pairs of kiwi in the bush. DOC staff monitor the kiwi closely in order to identify when the male kiwi starts incubating an egg. The egg is left in the nest to complete the majority of its development incubated by the male. Then, when the egg has completed the majority of its incubation under the male, the egg is removed from the burrow and then carefully transported in heated containers to kiwi breeding and recovery sites such as Willowbank.
The total incubation time is 70–80 days, and hatching can take up to 3 days. Kiwi chicks do not have an egg tooth like a lot of other birds, so breaking through the tough shell takes a lot of effort. After hatching, a kiwi chick does not need to eat for the first week or so, as it gets nutrition from the remaining yolk sac that has been internalised. The large internal yolk sac can take up to 10 days to be absorbed. Between 5–10 days after it has hatched, the kiwi keepers start to feed it a special captive diet, made of beef, ox heart, vegetables, fruit and supplements. Eventually, a kiwi chick will go into an outside enclosure to learn how to forage in the wild. Once the kiwi chick reaches a weight of over 1 kg, it is less likely to be predated by stoats and can then be released back into the wild.
Candling a kiwi egg
Candling an egg shows the viability of an egg. This allows conservation staff to age an egg within 1–2 days of its actual developmental stage.
Willowbank’s captive kiwi breeding programme for North Island brown kiwi
The kiwi breeding programme at Willowbank begins with a number of breeding pairs of kiwi located in a predator-proof outdoor bush area approximately 2 hectares in size. Willowbank has been involved in the breeding and management of four species of kiwi: North Island brown, great spotted, Ōkārito rowi and Haast tokoeka. By mid-2019, this work has led to over 600 kiwi being released back to the wild.
Staff at Willowbank carefully monitor the breeding process through egg collection, candling, incubation and caring for the chick once it has hatched. Kiwi chicks are closely monitored, fed a special diet and weighed regularly to ensure their progress is satisfactory. The kiwi diet mix made up by the staff is measured out according to each individual chick’s weight and needs. After kiwi have been fed overnight, the remaining food is weighed, and this data is collected to identify trends and ensure the kiwi are developing accordingly.
Once a kiwi chick reaches a suitable weight, it is given a health check before its release into various crèche sites throughout the South Island. These mainland and offshore sites are monitored for signs of predators to give the kiwi their greatest chance at survival.
Other conservation programmes
Save the Kiwi is the largest organisation that is working towards the conservation of kiwi in Aotearoa. They support many local conservation groups across New Zealand to undertake kiwi conservation projects, as well as run two kiwi crèche where kiwi chicks are hatched and reared as part of Operation Nest Egg.
In Kaitiaki of the kiwi, discover more about the work undertaken since 1992 by the Lake Waikaremoana Hapū Restoration Trust to help protect kiwi in their area. Find out how a 9-year research project demonstrated that the predation of eggs and chicks was the main cause of kiwi decline – a very important discovery for future conservation planning.
Additional sanctuaries that help kiwi
In 2000, DOC set up five kiwi sanctuaries with the goal to increase the number of young kiwi surviving each year via predator control and to provide opportunities for research and monitoring. Three are in the North Island and two in the South Island. The sanctuaries are:
Whangārei Kiwi Sanctuary (Northland brown kiwi)
Moehau Kiwi Sanctuary on the Coromandel Peninsula (Coromandel brown kiwi)
Tongariro Forest Kiwi Sanctuary near Taupō (western brown kiwi)
Ōkārito Kiwi Sanctuary (rowi)
Haast Tokoeka Kiwi Sanctuary (Haast tokoeka).
This intensive management programme has been rewarded with dramatic increases in chick survival rates – for example, at Whangārei, 50–60% of chicks survive their first 6 months compared with only 11% outside the sanctuary.
Little spotted kiwi
The kiwi is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s national icons. It is known as te manu huna a Tāne – the hidden bird of Tāne. In this picture Victoria University researcher Helen Taylor is holding a little-spotted kiwi (kiwi pukupuku) at Zealandia.
Find out more about Helen's research on kiwis here.
Other mainland conservation islands and fenced sanctuaries that have significant populations of kiwi and/or assist with kiwi conservation through programmes such as kiwi crèches include:
ZEALANDIA, Wellington (little spotted kiwi or or kiwi pukupuku)
Maungatautari Restoration Project, Waikato (brown kiwi)
Bushy Park Forest Reserve near Kai Iwi, Whanganui (brown kiwi)
Otanewainuku Forest, Bay of Plenty (brown kiwi)
Hurunui Mainland Island, south branch, Hurunui River, North Canterbury (great spotted kiwi)
Cape Sanctuary, Hawke’s Bay (North Island brown kiwi)
National Kiwi Hatchery Aotearoa, Rotorua (brown kiwi)
Orokonui Ecosanctuary (Haast kiwi).
This conservation work also allows ongoing research into kiwi, for example, looking into behaviour patterns, genetics and more to ensure conservation efforts continue to be informed by the latest research.
Related content
Read about the five recognised species of kiwi in this article.
Learn about the impact that low genetic variation has on the little spotted kiwi.
The Science Learning Hub team has curated an introductory collection of resources to help teach about bird conservation. Log in to make this collection part of your private collection, just click on the copy icon. You can then add additional content and notes and make other changes. Registering an account for the Science Learning Hub is easy and free – sign up with your email address or Google account. Look for the Sign in button at the top of each page.
Want to help your students take action for conservation? Check out this recorded PLD webinar – it’s full of helpful ideas. This is one of four recorded webinars sharing Department of Conservation resources that support hands-on conservation education and inquiry.
A 2014 DNA study of extinct elephant bird specimens held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa has revealed these birds to be the kiwi’s closest relative – previously, it was thought that the kiwi’s closest relatives were the Australian emu and cassowary. In addition, it suggests a new evolutionary pathway for the family of ratites.
Useful links
Information on kiwi and conservation efforts
Specific information on kiwi and Operation Nest Egg can be found on the Save the Kiwi website.
The New Zealand Conservation Trust website contains information about conservation of the kiwi and other New Zealand wildlife. Educational information can also be found here.
Visit the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve website for more information on its facilities.
Get more information on the kiwi on the Department of Conservation website.
Check out our Native birds board on Pinterest for loads of resource ideas on our New Zealand birds.
In July 2025, RNZ reported on the exciting news that little spotted kiwi had been found on New Zealand's mainland for first time in 50 years.
Ongoing research into kiwi
Find out about 2014 research on why the kiwi and moa are flightless in this article on The Conversation. In 2019, University of Otago researchers in association with colleagues from Harvard University discovered new evidence of what made some of New Zealand’s birds such as the kiwi and extinct moa flightless. See this RNZ news article about this study or the full results here in Science.
A 2016 study suggests that there may be 11 kiwi species. Find out more in this Stuff news article or see the research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
