This video from New Zealand is about a Brown Kiwi. It is a noctural flightless bird.
From the New Zealand Press Agency:
Feisty kiwi chick survives quake
Last updated 15:14 20/09/2010
A healthy kiwi chick has hatched at Christchurch’s Orana Park, allaying fears that the earthquake had damaged the egg.
The magnitude 7.1 quake on September 4 caused a power outage of four hours as well as rocking the delicate egg inside its incubator.
Orana Park staff were worried about the state of the egg and so were delighted with the arrival of the healthy chick on Friday night, public relations manager Nathan Hawke said.
The kiwi would be called Ruwhenua, which means shaky ground or the shaking of the land.
“We think this name will serve as a reminder to us of the impact the earthquake and aftershocks have had upon Christchurch and Canterbury residents,” head keeper of native fauna Tara Atkinson said.
There was an awkward moment during the hatching process when staff realised the chick had actually put its foot through one end of the egg (instead of kicking out at the middle of the egg) making it difficult to break free, Atkinson said.
But after some help from staff the brown kiwi chick hatched and is described as having a “feisty character”.
Brown kiwi are classified as being in serious decline by the Department of Conservation.
Only four zoos outside New Zealand have had kiwis hatch: here.
New Zealand probes mystery ‘kiwi’ found in Russian port: here.
June 2011: The most successful kiwi breeding season in the history of New Zealand’s national wildlife centre has ended on an extraordinary note with the surprise hatching of a white kiwi chick: here.
White kiwi Manukura: here. And here.
Northland brown kiwi in the Purua kiwi sanctuary: here.
New Zealand’s parliament voted unanimously last month to pass the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act (CERRA), which gives government ministers the power to override almost any law in the country’s statute books. The conservative National Party government pushed through the legislation in a single evening, with the full support of the Maori Party, the opposition Labour Party and the Green Party: here.
New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, has just elected a new mayor – a green one! After a long wait for special votes to be counted, Wellington’s incumbent mayor Kerry Prendergast was pipped at the post by Green party member, Celia Wade-Brown. The Green Party described Wade-Brown’s victory as another great ‘milestone for the green movement in New Zealand’ and stated that it was a great day to be a Wellingtonian: here.
The Aptornithidae (Mantell 1848) is an extinct bird family known only from New Zealand. They have been classified into the North Island adzebill (Aptornis otidiformis, Owen 1844) and the South Island adzebill (Aptornis defossor, Owen 1871): here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Scientists develop deodorant for birds
* From correspondents in New Zealand
* From: AFP
* September 24, 2010 1:36PM
SCIENTISTS are hoping to develop a deodorant for New Zealand’s native birds to stop them falling prey to introduced predators.
New Zealand has an abundance of native bird species, including the famous kiwi, but no native land mammals, meaning introduced animals such as cats and stoats have had a devastating impact on bird numbers.
Associate Professor Jim Briskie from New Zealand’s Canterbury University said it appeared the country’s birds suffered from body odour, making them an easy target for predators.
He said unlike their overseas counterparts, which evolved alongside mammals, New Zealand birds emitted a strong smell when preened to produce wax to protect their feathers.
He said the kiwi smelled like mushrooms or ammonia, while the flightless kakapo parrot’s odour was like “musty violin cases,” possibly contributing to its endangered status.
The Marsden scientific research fund has given Associate Professor Briskie a NZ$600,000 (US$437,000) grant to study native bird body odours over the next three years in the hope of making them less exposed to predators.
“Down the line, if we do find some species are particularly smelly or vulnerable, perhaps I can design a deodorant for kiwis,” he told the Dominion Post newspaper.
LikeLike
Pingback: Rare kiwis to New Zealand island | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Big Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Good kiwi news from New Zealand | Dear Kitty. Some blog