Canku Ota - March 6, 2004 - How the Kiwi Lost His Wings

	Canku Ota
	(Many Paths)
	An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America
	March 6, 2004 - Issue 108


	How the Kiwi Lost His Wings
	Maori Legend
	credits: maori.org.nz

One day, Tanemahuta was walking through the forest. He looked up at his children reaching for the sky and he noticed that they were starting to sicken, as bugs were eating them.

He talked to his brother, Tanehokahoka, who called all of his children, the birds of the air together.

Tanemahuta spoke to them.

"Something is eating my children, the trees. I need one of you to come down from the forest roof and live on the floor, so that my children can be saved, and your home can be saved. Who will come?"

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke.

Tanehokahoka turned to Tui.

"E Tui, will you come down from the forest roof?"

Tui looked up at the trees and saw the sun filtering through the leaves. Tui looked down at the forest floor and saw the cold, dark earth and shuddered.

"Kao, Tanehokahoka, for it is too dark and I am afraid of the dark."

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke.

Tanehokahoka turned to Pukeko.

"Pukeko, will you come down from the forest roof?"

Pukeko looked up at the trees and saw the sun filtering through the leaves. Pukeko looked down at the forest floor and saw the cold, damp earth and shuddered.

"Kao, Tanehokahoka, for it is too damp and I do not want to get my feet wet."

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke.

Tanehokahoka turned to Pipiwharauroa.

"Pipiwharauroa, will you come down from the forest roof?"

Pipiwharauroa looked up at the trees and saw the sun filtering through the leaves. Pipiwharauroa looked around and saw his family.

"Kao, Tanehokahoka, for I am busy at the moment building my nest."

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke. And great was the sadness in the heart of Tanehokahoka, for he knew, that if one of his children did not come down from the forest roof, not only would his brother loose his children, but the birds would have no home.

Tanehokahoka turned to Kiwi.

"E kiwi, will you come down from the forest roof?"

Kiwi looked up at the trees and saw the sun filtering through the leaves. Kiwi looked around and saw his family. Kiwi looked at the cold damp earth. Looking around once more, he turned to Tanehokahoka and said,

"I will."

Great was the joy in the hearts of Tanehokahoka and Tanemahuta, for this little bird was giving them hope. But Tanemahuta felt that he should warn kiwi of what would happen.

"E kiwi, do you realise that if you do this, you will have to grow thick, strong legs so that you can rip apart the logs on the ground and you will loose your beautiful coloured feathers and wings so that you will never be able to return to the forest roof. You will never see the light on day again."

All was quiet, and not a bird spoke.

"E kiwi, will you come down from the forest roof?"

Kiwi took one last look at the sun filtering through the trees and said a silent goodbye. Kiwi took one last look at the other birds, their wings and their coloured feathers and said a silent goodbye. Looking around once more, he turned to Tanehokahoka and said,

"I will."

Then Tanehokahoka turned to the other birds and said,

"E Tui, because you were too scared to come down from the forest roof, from now on you will wear the two white feathers at your throat as the mark of a coward.

Pukeko, because you did not want to get your feet wet, you will live forever in the swamp.

Pipiwharauroa, because you were too busy building your nest, from now on you will never build another nest again, but lay your eggs in other birds nests.

But you kiwi, because of your great sacrifice, you will become the most well known and most loved bird of them all."

Print and Color Your Own Kiwi
Kiwi

Kiwi (Apterygiformes-Ratitae)

The kiwi bird's name comes from the Maori language, and imitates the cry of the male kiwi during the mating season. The first European settlers to encounter the kiwi very sensibly used the Maori name, which is probably thousands of years old, rather than trying to rename the bird.

The kiwi (bird) is unusual in at least two respects. First, it is the only bird in the world that has its nostrils at the end of its beak. Second, the female kiwi has the largest egg, in proportion to its body size, of any bird in the world (except possibly for the hummingbird). Kiwi are about the same size as chickens, but their eggs are almost as big as those of ostriches!

It's a curious bird, the kiwi: It cannot fly, has loose, hair-like feathers and long whiskers. Kiwis grow to about the size of a chicken and weigh between three and nine pounds. They have no tail and tiny two inch wings which for all practical purposes, are useless. Despite its awkward appearance, a kiwi can actually outrun a human and have managed to survive because of their alertness and their sharp, three-toed feet, which enable them to kick and slash an enemy.

The kiwi is related to the ostrich of Africa, the emu of Australia and the now-extinct moa of New Zealand. Females are larger than males and with brown kiwi, the male does most of the egg incubating. Kiwis live in pairs and mate for life, sometimes as long as 30 years.

The main breeding period is from late winter to summer. Nests may be in hollow logs, under tree roots, in natural holes or in burrows excavated mainly by the male. Most clutches contain one or two eggs. Eggs are smooth, and coloured ivory or greenish-white. Kiwi eggs are proportionately larger compared to the size of the adult female than the eggs of any other bird. An egg may reach one-quarter of its mother’s weight. After the first egg is laid, the male takes over incubation and nest maintenance. Incubation takes about eleven weeks but if the female returns to lay another egg, the male has to sit on the clutch for a much longer time. Leaving the nest only occasionally, the male’s weight can decrease by up to one third.

The young kiwi emerges wearing shaggy adult plumage. The young chick is not fed by the adult, but survives on a large reserve of yolk in its belly. Gaining strength, the chick remains in the nest for six to ten days. The young kiwi then leaves the burrow, and, accompanied by the male, begins to search for food. Kiwis have been known to live up to twenty years.

Surveys through the 90s show numbers throughout mainland New Zealand dropping by an alarming 5.8 per cent a year. There are now about 75,000 kiwis left. If the present rate of decline continues numbers will be down to 50,000 by the year 2006 and many of these will be on protected off-shore islands.

The brown kiwi is still widespread in the central and northern North Island, but the little spotted kiwi survives only on off-shore islands. Around 1000 of them live on Kapiti Island, with transferred little spotted kiwi now well-established on Hen Island and Red Mercury Island in the Hauraki Gulf, Long Island in the Marlborough Sounds, and recently on Tiritiri Matangi in the Hauraki Gulf.

Introduced predators are the biggest threat. Stoats and cats kill 95 per cent of kiwi chicks before they are six months old. Adult kiwi are often killed by ferrets and dogs and dogs and ferrets attack and kill adult kiwi.







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