Kiwi adaptations report writing

Kiwi adaptations

Kiwis are beautiful native birds that are flightless
and nocturnal.They have many mammal-like adaptations
and that makes then very unique.It is highly unlikely
that you will see one in the wild because it will be sleeping
and all hidden away.Its adaptations are mainly behavioural
and structural.

Over time the kiwi has developed two main behavioural
adaptations such as being nocturnal and being flightless.
The reason kiwis don’t fly is because a long time ago most
of the birds would fly and all of the flying birds would eat
the berries from the trees and they would have to compete
with one another to get the berries. However on the ground
there are not many other birds so there is hardly any
competition for food because the flightless birds eat
food that is under the ground or on top of the soil.
Also kiwis don’t fly because it saves their energy and
kiwis need their energy for other things.  Before humans
arrived in NZ there was no predators on the ground anyway
so the Kiwis didn’t need to fly.

A kiwi also has some structural adaptations to suit their
habitat such as having nostrils on the start of their beak
to help sniff food from under the ground. Their brown
plumage helps keep them camouflaged with the dirt on
the ground. Their feathers are shaggy and hair like because
it blend in with the environment around them. They also
have whiskers on the start of their beak to help navigate
in the dark because they are nocturnal and they don’t have
very good eyesight. Long claws is another adaptation to dig
up their food that is underground. Another structural
adaptation is their beak. They have such a long beak
because as I said their eyesight is not the best and
they mostly rely on touch and smell with their beak
as they walk. They simply stop to put their beak
on the ground and feel if there are vibrations under
the ground coming from the worms and other bugs
that they are trying to catch and as soon as they
feel a vibration they start to dig. Having nostrils is
kind of hard for kiwis in a way as well as being very
helpful because sometimes they get dirt stuck in their
nostrils and then they make a snorting sound to get it
out as it is uncomfortable.

Lots of the kiwis adaptations no longer work because
people have introduced new animals into New Zealand.
Some of them can attack the kiwi.  The adaptations of
being flightless and nocturnal are useless because some
of the animals that live in the same habitat have the same
adaptations and eat both the kiwi and their eggs.

Kiwis have many adaptations that they have developed
over the years. They are flightless because it saves energy
and they don’t have to compete for food like the flying
birds do. They mostly rely on touch and smell because
their eyesight is not very good. They have a long beak to
sense vibrations coming from the worms or bugs underneath
the ground and then they dig it up immediately.
Unfortunately with the arrival of pakeha to
Nz also came many animals that are a predator to
the kiwis.  I hope the kiwi can develop more adaptations
before it is too late.