570 FLIGHTLESS BIRDS, 



The general colour of the plumage is mottled grey and brown, the feathers liaving 

 in some cases light-coloured shafts, and in others dark cix)ss-bars. In addition to 

 great individual variations of size, kiwis are remarkable for their very large eggs, 

 which are of a creamy-white colour, and out of all proportion to the dimensions of 

 the birds by which they are laid. In having the nostrils placed at the tip of the 

 beak, the kiwis are unique. 



At the present day kiwis are represented by three or four species, of which 

 the first made known to science was the South Island kiwi {Apteryx australis). 

 This species is of large size and stout build, with a very long beak ; the general 

 colour of the plumage being lighter, and the individual feathers of a sandier and 

 more greyish brown tinge than in the next fonn. In the North Island kiwi 

 {A. mantelli) the general colour of the plumage of the upper-parts is dark rufous 

 streaked with blackish brown, while the under-parts are pale greyish brown ; the 

 streaky appearance of the upper surface being caused by each feather having the 

 middle line pale rufous brown, darker towards the tip, and the long hair-like 

 filaments black. The total lengtli of the male, following the curvature of the 

 back, is about 23 inches, and that of the female 27^ inchea Of the other two 

 species, the little grey kiwi {A. oweni), of the South Island, is characterised by its 

 small size — the length of the male being only 17 J inches, — its moderately long 

 beak, and more slender legs ; the general hue of the plumage of the upper-parts 

 being light yellowish brown, mottled and obscurely barred with wavy blackish 

 brown markings, while beneath it is paler, becoming fulvous on the abdomen, 

 where there are faint brown bars. Some doubt exists as to the right to distinction 

 of the large grey kiwi {A. haasti), wliich Mr. H. O. Forbes, who believed that it 

 occurred only in the South Island, thought might be merely a hybrid between the 

 South Island kiwi and the little grey kiwi. According, however, to Mr. Rothschild, 

 it exists also in the North Island, where the two latter do not occur. It is a large 

 and thick-billed species, of darker coloration than the little grey kiwi, the dark 

 bars on the plumage being nearly black, and the fulvous markings tinged with 

 chestnut. Fossilised remains of the existing species occur with those of the moas, 

 while one is supposed to be extinct, and has been named Pseudapteryx. In habits 

 the kiwis are purely nocturnal ; and, at the time when they were still abundant, 

 were commonly found in parties of from six to twelve, their shrill nocturnal cries 

 resounding far and wide throughout the mountainous parts of the country they 

 frequent. No better account of their general mode of life is extant than one from 

 the pen of Sir W. J. Buller, who, after mentioning that the kiwi is in some measure 

 compensated for the absence of wings by its swiftness of foot, proceeds to observe 

 that " when running it makes wide strides and carries the body in an oblique 

 position, with the neck stretched to its full extent and inclined forwards. In the 

 twilight it moves about cautiously and as noiselessly as a rat, to which, indeed, at 

 this time it bears some outward resemblance. In a quiescent posture, the body 

 generally assumes a perfectly rotund appearance ; and the bird sometimes, but 

 only rarely, supports itself by resting the point of its bill on the ground. It often 

 yawns when disturbed in the daytime, gaping its mandibles in a very grotesque 

 manner. When provoked, it erects the body, and, raising the foot to the breast, 

 strikes downwards with considerable force and rapidity, thus using its sharp and 



