Species group · Birds
Brown Kiwis
WAnimals has 3 species of brown kiwi, in the family Apterygidae.
- 3 species
- 1 family
- 1 country
- 13 parks
- Weight
- 1.5 kg – 3.5 kg
- Length
- 35 cm – 55 cm
- Lifespan
- 30 – 40 years
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 3.
All 3 species of brown kiwis on WAnimals
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
3 Vulnerable
3 species in this group are in a threatened category according to the IUCN.
Where they live
Recorded in one country.
Where to see them
Did you know…?
Kiwis lay the largest egg in the world in proportion to the body, and have one of the longest incubations: almost three months, against three weeks for a hen.
From Southern Brown Kiwi
The male does the incubating in most species, and in the southern brown kiwi the pairs are monogamous for life and defend the same territory for decades.
From Southern Brown Kiwi
New Zealanders call themselves Kiwis, and the bird is the country's national symbol even though most of them have never seen one in the wild.
From Southern Brown Kiwi
It is the only bird in the world with its nostrils at the tip of its bill: it sniffs the ground as it probes the leaf litter, and its olfactory bulb is enormous in proportion to its brain.
From Great Spotted Kiwi
It lays the largest egg in the world relative to body size: up to a quarter of the female's weight, the equivalent of a woman giving birth to a four-year-old child.
From Great Spotted Kiwi
It has a body temperature of around 38 degrees, lower than any other bird's and closer to a mammal's, and it also has marrow in its bones as mammals do.
From Great Spotted Kiwi
It lays one of the largest eggs relative to body size of any bird.
It is the only bird with nostrils at the tip of its bill.