57° 
FLIGHTLESS BIRDS . 
The general colour of the plumage is mottled grey and brown, the feathers having 
in some cases light-coloured shafts, and in others dark cross-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 form. 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 length of the male, following the curvature of the 
back, is about 23 inches, and that of the female 27| inches. 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| 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), which 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 
