Stewart Island kiwi

Stewart Island kiwi

Nationally Endangered (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Infraclass: Palaeognathae
Order: Apterygiformes
Family: Apterygidae
Genus: Apteryx
Species:
A. australis
Subspecies:
A. a. lawryi
Trinomial name
Apteryx australis lawryi

The Stewart Island tokoeka (Apteryx australis lawryi), also called the Stewart Island kiwi, the Rakiura tokoeka, or the Rakiura kiwi, is a subspecies of southern brown kiwi endemic to New Zealand. Like other ratites, it is a flightless bird.[2][3]

Appearance

The Stewart Island tokoeka is the largest type of southern brown kiwi. It has red-brown feathers that resemble fur. It has small wings and a long, curved bill.[2] The nostrils are at the end of the bill, not at the top near the rest of its face. Experts think the kiwi can smell very well.[4]

Habitat and family

A Stewart Island kiwi on a beach.

About 20,000 Stewart Island tokoeka live on Stewart Island. Unlike other kiwis, they are diurnal rather than active only at night.[3]

Unlike other kiwis, the Stewart Island tokoeka is not solitary, instead living in family groups. The chicks remain with their parents for up to seven years, during which they take turns incubating their parents' younger eggs. Scientists believe this assistance by older siblings may be why kiwi parents sometimes have two clutches each year.[1] This kiwi also goes onto the beach to look for food, which most other kiwis do not do.[4][5]

Threats

Invasive mustelids, such as stoats, never established themselves on Stewart Island to the same extent as in the rest of New Zealand. However, there are feral cats on Stewart Island, and they can be very large.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "Tokoeka – literally meaning 'weka with a walking stick' (Ngāi Tahu) – has three geographically and genetically distinct forms: Haast, Fiordland, and Rakiura (Stewart Island)". New Zealand Department of Conservation. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Southern Brown Kiwi". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Birds". Stewart Island Promotion Association. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b Dominic Couzens (18 June 2015). Top 100 Birding Sites Of The World. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472919854. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  5. ^ Bette Flagler (2004). Adventure Guide to New Zealand. Hunter Publishing, Incorporated. ISBN 9781588435446. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  6. ^ Erwin Brinkmann; Neville Peat (1992). Stewart Island: The Last Refuge. Random House New Zealand. p. 98. ISBN 9781869411657. Retrieved 22 August 2021.