Kiwi Bird Egg: How Big Is It, How Long Does It Take To Hatch, And More!

Seldom do you see a bird laying an egg that is unusually large as compared to its body size.

The kiwi, which is endemic to North New Zealand, is a flightless bird that is known to reside in deep burrows. Many biologists refer to the kiwi as an honorary mammal because it is so unlike a bird.

There are five variants of kiwis: Okarito kiwi, southern brown kiwi, great spotted kiwi, north island brown kiwi, little spotted kiwi.

Kiwis are nocturnal by nature. They sleep throughout the day and are more active at night. They spend the entire night combing the area for food.

They defend their territory while they are not seeking food. To mark their area, kiwis will deposit very odorous droppings.

Only the spouse, young, and adult children of the kiwi are allowed in the region. The kiwis will fight if they stretch out into each other's territory. Kiwis live for about 20-30 years in the wild, but they can live for up to 40 years in captivity.

Research indicates that kiwi's feathers transformed into softer, fur-like filaments and its nostrils relocated to the tip of its long beak as it became and nocturnal. The beak conveniently helps in detecting prey.

The weirdest thing about the bird is that the female Kiwi can be giving birth to an egg that weighs up to a quarter of its body weight. This is by far the largest avian egg on the planet in terms of relative size.

Kiwis have one of the highest egg-to-bodyweight ratios of any species. A normal egg weighs roughly 15% of a female's body weight.

However, it can be up to 20% of her total weight, which is equivalent to a 120 lb (54.4 kg) human woman giving birth to a 24 lb (10 kg) baby. At any given time, a female kiwi lays one to two eggs

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How long does a Kiwi egg take to hatch?

Antibacterial and antifungal qualities in their eggs protect them from bacteria and fungus found in native New Zealand's humid regions. The male will sit on the pair until the eggs hatch.

A female kiwi's gestation span is between 75-85 days. The chick kicks the kiwi's egg open and is covered in feathers as soon as it is out, unlike other birds. They have the same appearance as their parents.

When the chick hatches, it is quickly independent and does not imprint on its parents. After a few days, the tiny one will leave the burrow and spend about 20 days with their father. Sadly, 95% of Kiwi chicks do not live up to adulthood.

What color is a Kiwi egg?

This species lays eggs that have a smooth white to off-white color. Sometimes they can also have a pale green coloration.

Why are Kiwi bird eggs so big?

There can be plenty of interesting reasons behind the kiwi bird's egg being so big.

Kiwi chicks have a tummy full of yolk, which they can subsist off of for the first two and a half weeks of their lives, thanks to the large egg.

In an environment where there are few ground-dwelling egg-eating predators but many chick-eating flying predators, having a baby kiwi that can better dodge death from above would be worth the pain.

Take it a step further, and you could imagine the kiwi being better than other mammals and creating a system for an eggy version of live delivery, with a lot of extra yolks replacing the mother's milk.

Is it painful for Kiwis to lay eggs?

Kiwis lay eggs six times the size of a typical one for a bird of their size. The flightless, nocturnal North Island brown kiwi of New Zealand lays the largest ones in proportion to its body size thus causing a painful experience for the bird to lay.

A female Kiwi lays eggs that are 15-22% the size of her body weight.

The brown Kiwi also has the highest yolk content of any bird, at 65%, compared to 35-40% for most other birds. It is pretty much evident that Kiwis undergo a lot of pain while laying them.

What bird has the biggest egg?

Without a doubt, the world's largest bird, the ostrich, lays the world's biggest egg.

The ostrich, as most of you are aware, is a huge, flightless African bird. They can be found in the continent's arid and semi-arid regions.

Their eggs are over 5.11 in (13 cm) wide and 6 in (15 cm) in length and weigh more than 3 lb (1.4 kg). The Guinness World Records for the largest egg laid by a living animal goes to an ostrich from Kerstin and Gunnar Sahlin's farm in Sweden, where it weighed 5.5 lb (2.5 kg)!

Conserving Kiwi Populations

The nocturnal brown kiwi, like many endangered species, only exists in small, fractured, and isolated populations. This causes inbreeding and, eventually, inbreeding depression, which results in decreased offspring survival and fertility.

To avoid this, mixing kiwi from various different populations appears to be a smart idea.

Kiwi birds are revered by all New Zealand cultures as a symbol of the country's unique natural heritage. Thus, visible efforts and attempts are made to conserve them.

The southern brown kiwi and the dark-spotted kiwi are both classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Natur (IUCN). The northern brown kiwi and the Okarito kiwi, on the other hand, are endangered.

Although the population of north kiwi is constant, the Okarito kiwi colony is growing. According to the New Zealand Department of Conservation, the country is losing about 2% of its uncontrolled kiwi population each year. New Zealand has a population of approximately 68,000 kiwis.

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