Aug 20, 2010: Kiwi

[xoxoxoBruce]

[i]f you click on the link you'll read his long sad story of a broken leg that had to be rebroken, his release, another broken leg and transfusion.

[Cloud]

so sad . . . so lazy

[Cloud]

Originally Posted by classicman

I wonder if those whiskers serve the same purpose as a cat's?

More like a mammal than a bird .....

The kiwi is one of the world's oddest endangered birds. In fact, one may ask whether it really is a bird.

It is the closest thing to a mammal in the bird world. The kiwi's blood temperature is nearly the same as a mammal, about 2°C lower than other birds. And it has bone marrow, instead of air as in the bones of a bird.

Both ovaries are functional in a kiwi, it has large ear openings, long whiskers, and plumage more like hair than feathers - all physical characteristics of most mammals. Birds have two ovaries but only one that functions, small concealed ears, and no whiskers. With strong stout legs and claws that are 30 percent of its' body weight, the kiwi is a powerful runner, fighter and swimmer.

The kiwi is the only bird in the world with nostrils at the end of its bill. Birds typically do not have a good sense of smell, but the kiwi's is very well developed. The olfactory bulb in the brain which controls smelling senses, is larger in kiwi than in other birds, and is structured more closely to that of a mammal.

http://terranature.org/kiwi1.htm

[Pete Zicato]

Looks pretty small. We're going to need a couple more to make that kiwi pie.

[Griff]

That's why they're endangered.

[xoxoxoBruce]

More like a mammal than a bird

When it made the leap from dinosaur to bird, it bounced part way to mammal before it could stop.

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by Griff

That's why they're endangered.

Well if we'd stop breaking their legs...

[monster]

Coming next week to an IOTD near you: Kangaroo on a trampoline

[Diaphone Jim]

Of course they are endangered. They have been hunted down for decades for their shoe shine glands.

[Adak]

I'm surprised the species isn't extinct:

*Can't burrow a protective underground home

*Can't outrun much of anything that wants to eat it.
(Cellar members excluded)

*Can't fly.

*Can't swim fast, if at all.

*Can't climb trees to get away from predators.

*Nice claws, but most predators can still clean it's clock.

Flightless birds are a risky proposition. Emu, and Ostrich are the only ones I know of that live on land, and have been successful. (Roadrunners can fly a bit - and do nest above ground)

[monster]

Mebbe it should be reclassified as a wombless mammal?

[TheDaVinciChode]

Originally Posted by Adak

I'm surprised the species isn't extinct:

*Can't burrow a protective underground home

*Can't outrun much of anything that wants to eat it.
(Cellar members excluded)

*Can't fly.

*Can't swim fast, if at all.

*Can't climb trees to get away from predators.

*Nice claws, but most predators can still clean it's clock.

Flightless birds are a risky proposition. Emu, and Ostrich are the only ones I know of that live on land, and have been successful. (Roadrunners can fly a bit - and do nest above ground)

They can burrow, actually - some species make rather intricate, labyrinth-style burrows, whilst others will make single-entrance burrows... It varies amongst species, but, they are all rather successful burrowers.

They are very strong swimmers, capable of traversing even rather heavy-flowing rivers.

They're very fast, especially for their size - able to fiercely defend a territory 62 acres or more in size, every night.*

* Being as small as they are, and yet, able to maintain such a large territory, is evidence of great tenacity, as well as relative-to-size great speed. I forget how fast they can actually move, but, lacking other defences, the Kiwi uses its SPEED to evade predators... surviving millions of years, prior to the introducing of non-native predators to their habitat, thanks to their speed.

Many animals can't fly. Doesn't stop them living very successful, long lives. (Kiwi live, on average, between 20 - 30 years, and as stated, have existed for millennia, without any threat of extinction, prior to man, anyway.)

Also - They have an incredible sense of smell, to help them know when predators are around, as well as to locate food sources; they can even locate insects, beneath the ground, using nothing but their sense of smell.

Oh, and don't believe what you hear, about them being stupid, or half-blind, either. They have good eye-sight, and are very fast learners.

(Once more - I apologise for not being around... damn surface dwellers keepin' me down... or up, I suppose.)

[ZenGum]

Until humans turned up, there were no mammals (except a few bats) in New Zealand. No rats, cats, foxes, dogs, human hunters etc etc. There were many ground-dwelling birds that are now in great danger.

As well as the Giant Moa, there seems to have been some kind of enormous Eagle - wing-span 3-4 metres (10-13 feet). Maori legends told of great birds that could carry off human children, and while these were usually dismissed, recent fossil finds suggest such a bird existed.

Kiwis fight other kiwis, too. Put two male kiwis in a box and in a few hours you'll have a dead kiwi.

[HungLikeJesus]

What happened to the other Kiwi?

I must know.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

[i]f you click on the link you'll read his long sad story of a broken leg that had to be rebroken, his release, another broken leg and transfusion.

I may seem heavy-handed, but when I lend money I expect to get it back, okay?

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

What happened to the other Kiwi?

I must know.

He works for me.