CHAPTER XIV 



THE KIWIS, OR WINGLESS BIRDS OF 

 NEW ZEALAND 



(Order Aplerygiformes) 



F the many strange birds found in various parts of the world, perhaps 

 none is more curious and generally interesting than the Kiwis, or so- 

 called Wingless Birds of New Zealand. They are, for the great 

 group to which they belong, birds of small size, being only as large as 

 or slightly larger than a domestic fowl. They have a rounded, compact body, a 

 rather short neck, and small head, while the bill is very long, slender, slightly 

 curved, and bears the small slit-like nostrils near the tip, the latter a condition 

 not found in any other birds. The base of the bill is covered by a hard cere and 

 surrounded by numerous long, stiff bristles. They have relatively very powerful 

 thighs and legs, the latter covered with scales of various sizes, and four toes, 

 three of which are directed forward, and one, very short one, backward ; all the 

 toes are provided with claws which are long, strong, and acute. The plumage 

 is fluffy and quite hair-like in appearance, each feather being pointed and com- 

 posed of separate loose filaments ; there is no aftershaft. It was formerly sup- 

 posed that the feather covering was continuous over the body, but it is now 

 known that there are several small bare spaces. The wings are not quite ab- 

 sent, as the name implies, but are extremely aborted, consisting of a rudimentary 

 humerus and one complete digit. There are, however, no definable wing- 

 quills, and in fact the wings are entirely concealed by the plumage of the back ; 

 they are of course useless for flight and the birds are practically "wingless." 

 The reduced condition of the wing is further emphasized by the fact that the 

 sternum is without a keel. The tail is also practically concealed, there being 

 no tail-feathers. In color the plumage is brown or grayish brown, barred 

 across with lighter, or with each feather dark on the margins and lighter along the 

 middle. As a structural character of importance it may be mentioned that Mr. 

 Beddard has recently noted the presence of a very large oil-gland, which in 

 many particulars is quite unlike that of any other bird. Instead of consisting 

 of two lobes or sacs located a little way from the end of the tail, as in most 

 birds, there is a single very large gland with two nipples which form the very 

 extremity of the bird. 



Habits. Although first located near the Penguins, the structure of the Kiwis 

 shows them to be essentially struthious, and they are now appropriately placed 

 at the end of the Ratite series. That they constitute an ancient group is 



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