KIWIS 
Constantly sniffing, the grayish-brown kiwi conies out at night to search 
for worms and berries. No larger than a good-sized hen, it has a slender 
beak six inches long, with nostrils at the end. Its senses of smell and touch 
aie unusually keen. Finding a worm, it draws it slowly and deliberately 
from the ground, careful not to break it, and with a backward flip of the 
head, swallows it whole. The kiwi’s eyes have degenerated as a result of 
its nocturnal life, and it can scarcely see in the daytime. 
By day the kiwi hides in dense fern beds, rocky crevices, hollow 
trees or deep holes which it digs in the ground. One traveler reports that 
it hatches its single egg by sitting under it rather than on it, accomplishing 
this seemingly impossible feat by placing itself in a hole beside and under 
the egg’s resting place. Another theory is that it covers its egg with moss 
and dry leaves, which in decaying generate sufficient heat for incubation. 
The kiwi has the largest egg in proportion to its own bulk of any living 
species of bird. When disturbed in the daytime, this curious bird emits a 
wide, grotesque yawn. 
The kiwi has no visible wings, but its powerful legs compensate for 
this. It has a sharp spur toe on the rear of its feet, which serves as a weapon. 
Like the other flightless birds, the kiwi has a powerful kick and is a swift 
runner. Its chief enemies are men, dogs and wildcats. Useful to man for 
its skin, it has been well nigh exterminated. It runs with head and neck ex¬ 
tended like an ostrich. 
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