The small animal is the symbol of new zealand. The flightless kiwi bird is the symbol of New Zealand. new zealand symbol

Kiwi (Apteryx) is the only genus of ratites in the family of the same name (Apterygidae G.R. GRAY, 1840) and the order of kiwi-like or wingless birds (Apterygiformes). Includes three (according to the latest data - five) endemic New Zealand species.

All kiwi species have strong four-toed legs and a long narrow beak with nostrils at the very tip. The wings are not developed, the tail is absent. Kiwi feathers are more like thick wool. Kiwis are nocturnal birds that live primarily by smell; vision is very poor. Appearance and habits of kiwi are so different from other birds that zoologist William Calder gave them the nickname "honorary mammals".

For a long time it was assumed that the closest relative of the kiwi is another New Zealand species of flightless birds - the extinct moa. However, recent studies of the complete mitochondrial DNA sequences of kiwis and their flightless relatives have found that these birds are genetically closer to emus and cassowaries than to ostriches, rhea and moas.

Presumably, the ancestors of modern kiwi fell on New Zealand from Australasia later than moa, about 30 million years ago. According to molecular data, this could have happened even earlier - about 62 million years ago, but already after the separation of New Zealand from Gondwana (no later than 75 million years ago) and the divergence of the evolutionary branch of the moa (about 78 million years ago), which may indicate a primary the settlement of moa in New Zealand and the secondary - kiwi.

Kiwi, or wingless - flightless ratite birds. The sizes are small, with an ordinary chicken. Characterized by sexual dimorphism: females are larger than males. The body of a kiwi is pear-shaped, with a small head and short neck. Weigh from 1.4 to 4 kg.

Kiwi is characterized by the greatest reduction of wings among birds: they are only 5 cm in length and are almost invisible among the plumage. However, the kiwi retained the habit of resting to hide its beak under the wing. The body of the bird is evenly covered with soft, gray or light brown feathers, more like wool. The tail is missing. The legs are four-fingered, short, but very strong, with sharp claws; their weight is about 1/3 of body weight. The skeleton is not pneumatic, the bones are heavy.

Kiwis do not mainly rely on sight - their eyes are very small, only 8 mm in diameter - but on developed hearing and smell. Among birds, only condors have a stronger sense of smell. The kiwi has a very long, flexible, thin, straight or slightly curved beak, which in males reaches a length of 95-105 mm, and in females - 110-120 mm. Kiwi nostrils open at the end of the beak (in other birds - at its base). The language is rudimentary. At the base of the beak there are organs of touch - sensitive bristles - vibrissae.

Kiwi live mainly in damp evergreen forests; long fingers on their feet help them not to get stuck in marshy ground. In the most populated areas per 1 sq. km accounts for 4-5 birds. They lead an exclusively twilight and nocturnal lifestyle.

During the day, the kiwi hides in a dug hole, hollow or under the roots of trees. In the big gray kiwi, the burrows are a real labyrinth with several exits; other kiwi burrows are simpler, with one exit. There can be up to 50 shelters on a kiwi territory, which the bird changes every day. The kiwi burrow takes only a few weeks after it digs, during which time the grass and moss have time to grow, masking the entrance. Sometimes kiwis specially mask the nest, covering the entrance with leaves and twigs. During the day, they leave their shelters only in case of danger.

Secretive and timid during the day, these birds become aggressive at night. Kiwis are extremely territorial birds, and the mating pair, and especially the male, fiercely defends its nesting area from competitors, which can occupy from 2 to 100 hectares (near the rovi). Strong legs and the kiwi's beak is a dangerous weapon, and fights between birds can end in death. However, serious fights between kiwis are rare; usually the nesting site changes "owner" only after the natural death of the male. Birds mark the boundaries of their area with the help of calls that can be heard at night for several kilometers. The opinion that kiwis are slow and clumsy birds is erroneous - in nature they are mobile and go around the entire nesting area in one night.

Kiwis go hunting about 30 minutes after sunset. Their diet consists of insects, mollusks and earthworms, as well as fallen berries and fruits. Kiwis search for prey with the help of smell and touch - raking the ground with their feet and deeply immersing their beak in it, they literally "sniff out" worms and insects. On occasion, kiwis do not refuse small amphibians and crustaceans.

Kiwis are monogamous birds, they form pairs for at least 2-3 mating seasons, sometimes for life. A couple of times every three days it meets in the nesting hole and loudly calls to each other at night. The main mating season for kiwi lasts from June to March. Three weeks after fertilization, the female lays one egg (rarely two) in a hole or under the roots of a tree. Kiwi is the champion among birds in terms of the size of eggs laid: in an ordinary kiwi, it weighs up to 450 g, about 1/4 of the mass of the bird itself. The egg is white or greenish, 120 x 80 mm in size - this is about six times the size of a chicken egg, and contains the highest percentage of yolk among bird eggs - 65% (in most birds - 35-40%).

During gestation, the female eats three times as much as usual; 2-3 days before laying the egg, she stops eating because the egg takes up too much space inside her body. The laid egg is incubated by the male, who leaves it only for the time of feeding, for 2-3 hours; sometimes it is replaced by a female. In Stewart Island kiwis, which do not live in pairs, but in small stable groups, not only the male and female, but also other birds from the group, are engaged in incubation of eggs. Sometimes after 25 days the female lays a second egg.

The incubation period takes 75-85 days; it takes 2-3 days for the chick to get out of the shell with the help of its legs and beak. Chicks are born feathered not with down, but with feathers, and resemble miniature copies of adults. Parents usually do not care for the offspring and leave it immediately after hatching. For the first three days, the chick cannot stand on its feet and does not eat - subcutaneous reserves of the yolk allow it not to starve. By the fifth day, he begins to leave the nest, and by the 10-14th day, he begins to search for food on his own.

For the first six weeks of life, the kiwi chick can feed during the daytime, then it switches to a nocturnal lifestyle. Young kiwis are practically defenseless - up to 90% of birds die in the first six months of life, and 70% of them become prey to predators. Young kiwis grow slowly: only at 4-5 years old do they reach full size. Sexual maturity occurs - in males at 18 months, and in females at 2-3 years. But females usually begin to lay eggs only at 3-5 years. Kiwi life expectancy is high - up to 50-60 years.

Kiwis are found only in New Zealand. Northern kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) inhabits the North Island, common (A. australis), large gray (A. haasti) and rowi (A. rowi) - the South island, while small kiwi (A. oweni) is found only on the island Kapiti, from where he is settled on some other isolated islands.

Due to the secretive lifestyle, it is very difficult to meet this bird in nature. It is not surprising that the catastrophic decline in its numbers went unnoticed for a long time.

Scientists estimate that about 1000 years ago, more than 12 million kiwi inhabited the forests of New Zealand; by 2004 their population had dwindled to 70,000 individuals. Until recently, kiwis were dying out at a rate of up to 6% of the population per year; mainly because of the predators brought to the islands by Europeans - cats, dogs, weasels, and also because of the reduction in forest area. By themselves, kiwis are very hardy birds that are little susceptible to disease and are able to survive major changes environment.

Measures were taken to restore the number of this bird - in 1991, the state program for the restoration of kiwi (eng. Kiwi Recovery Program) was launched. As a result of protective measures, the number of kiwis surviving to adulthood increased from 5% (1991) to 60% (1998). Activities to repopulate the kiwi's range include captive breeding of the bird (the first chicks were only bred in captivity in 1989) and predator control.

Three types of kiwi, common, large gray and small, are listed in the international Red Book with the status of vulnerable (Vulnerable), and the new kind northern kiwi - as endangered (Endangered). Rovi has Nationally Critical status.

The kiwi is the national and unofficial emblem of New Zealand. It is a favorite symbol of New Zealand culture, depicted on coins, postage stamps, etc. "Kiwi" (English kiwis) is a comic nickname for the New Zealanders themselves. The New Zealand fruit plant kiwi got its name from the similarity of the shape of its pubescent fruit with the body of the bird of the same name.

It is clear that without the intervention of a European, the coat of arms of New Zealand might not have appeared for a very long time. Thanks to the great geographical discoveries of the Middle Ages, the foot of the white man also entered this blessed land of distant islands. Once under the protectorate of Great Britain, the New Zealanders followed the path of development imposed by guests from the other hemisphere. This is directly indicated by the official symbol, since in its elements one can guess the influence of Europe and, to a lesser extent, the national color.

Behind the scenes of history

Until 1911, the coats of arms of the British Empire and New Zealand were identical. With the receipt of dominion status in 1907, the question arose of developing a new symbol, and even a corresponding competition was held. But the main symbol was the version that was provided by George V, King of Great Britain. Later, minor changes were made, since 1956 the version approved by Queen Elizabeth II has been used.

The coat of arms turned out to be somewhat pompous (due to the use of symbols of the English monarchy) and magnificent, using different colors, among which one or two dominant ones cannot be named. On the one hand, you can see gold, yellow, brown, which are associated with the local population, on the other hand, the main colors of the English flag are presented - blue, red, white.

Elements of the coat of arms of New Zealand

The most saturated is the central shield, it is divided into five unequal fields, each of which has its own symbols and signs: the constellation Southern Cross; The Golden Fleece; wheat sheaf; two hammers.

On the field of the shield, the central part stands out in the form of a vertical white strip, on which sailboats are located one above the other. The ships symbolize the remoteness of New Zealand from the whole world (it can only be reached by sea), as the first settlers from Europe did in their time. In addition, sailboats are symbols of maritime trade, one of the important sectors of the country's economy.

Other economically important symbols are found in the rest of the shield. They symbolize: fleece - cattle breeding, wheat - agriculture, hammers - the mining industry.

The coat of arms is interesting from the point of view of the chosen shield holders. They are not presented as animals, real or fabulous. These are people, on the left is a white woman with a national flag, she looks like a typical Englishwoman of the late XIX - early. XX century, on the right - an aboriginal dressed in national clothes and armed with a spear. The emblem composition is crowned with a golden crown adorned with precious stones.

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Kiwi bird, a unique creature. A kind of cross between chicken and badger. Although kiwi is nominally a bird, its physiology and habits are clearly bestial.

Judge for yourself:
- cannot fly, but runs great and kicks skillfully
- vision is poor, but the scent is excellent (quite unusual for a bird)
- average body temperature of 38 degrees - two degrees lower than that of other birds
– two functional ovaries – in other birds, the right ovary is usually reduced/non-functional
- tubular bones are filled with bone marrow, and not hollow and light like those of flying birds
- feathers do not have micro-beards, and therefore resemble wool
- no tail (well, just like ours!)
- the base of the beak is covered with long whiskers
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The Kiwi bird lays the largest egg in relation to its body volume. The weight of the egg can be up to a quarter of the weight of the female. From the moment of conception to the moment of laying, about 3 weeks pass (a very long time for birds). Incubation is also unusually long - about 80 days. 65% of the volume of the egg is occupied by a high-calorie yolk. Thanks to this reserve, a freshly hatched chick can go without food for about a week. Hatching is slow, sometimes extending over several days. It takes another 3-5 days for the chick to figure out which leg goes where. Usually after 7-10 days the young kiwi is already able to leave the nest in search of food. Parents do not take care of the chick.

Kiwi ancestors once knew how to fly. This is how they arrived in New Zealand from Australia (an unclear number of millions of years ago). In the absence of mammals and terrestrial predators, the proto-kiwi eventually forgot how to fly and turned into exclusively terrestrial creatures. The wings of the modern kiwi are so reduced that they are completely lost in the long loose feathers of the body. They can only be felt by grasping the bird by the sides (which is prohibited by New Zealand law). To the touch, they resemble a crooked little finger.

Kiwis feed on worms, insects, seeds and small aquatic vertebrates. A long, thin, slightly curved beak and an excellent sense of smell help them find prey. Kiwi nostrils are located at the very tip of the beak. This physiological feature allows the bird to smell prey even underground. The bird plunges its nose into the soil in search of underground inhabitants. Hence the typical “footprint” of kiwi - cone-shaped holes 10-15 cm deep.

Kiwi is a nocturnal bird, and usually leaves the nest/burrow only at dusk.

Life expectancy - up to 60 years.

Kiwi pair up for life. However, for most of the year, male and female do not live in any close contact and, as a rule, do not share nests. In any case, they have a lot of nests / dens on the site.

Kiwis are extremely territorial. Every night, the couple whistles to the neighbors that the place is occupied. Violation of the border leads to violent fights.

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To date, there are 5 types of kiwi (and one exterminated). Below are their common and Latin names, the size of females (males are smaller), the estimated population size and distinguishing features:

Great Spotted Kiwi or Roroa, Apteryxhaastii – the largest species (females weigh about 3.3 kg); number of about 20,000 individuals; Both parents take part in incubation

Little Spotted Kiwi, Apteryxowenii- the smallest and defenseless (females weigh about 1.3 kg); the number of about 1350 individuals; exterminated on large islands, under strict protection lives on several protected small islands; only the male is engaged in incubation

Seeing kiwi in nature is quite difficult (most New Zealanders have not seen their symbol in nature). In the zoo - easily. Today there are about 17 nurseries in the country. For the sake of visitors, they usually change day and night there (lamps are turned on from evening to morning), so that kiwis are awake at the same hours as we are.