The Haast tokoeka or Haast kiwi (''Apteryx australis'' 'Haast') is a putative subspecies of the

southern brown kiwi The southern brown kiwi, tokoeka, or common kiwiDavies, S. J. J. F. (2003) (''Apteryx australis'') is a species of Kiwi (bird), kiwi from South Island of New Zealand. Until 2000 it was considered Conspecificity, conspecific with the North Islan ...

. It is one of the rarest kiwi in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Like other kiwi, this bird is flightless.

Morphology

This bird has red-brown feathers that resemble fur. It is flightless and has small wings and no tail. Its bill is long and narrow.

Habitat and habits

The Haast tokoeka lives high in the mountains on the west side of New Zealand's South Island. About half of its habitat is in a protected area, the Haast Kiwi Sanctuary. The adult Haast tokoeka live in pairs. They are territorial and fight other adult kiwis over good hunting and foraging ground. They are primarily

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

Taxonomic status

Not all scientists concur that the Haast tokoeka is a separate subspecies from the Fiordland tokoeka. New Zealand Birds Online refers to the Haast tokoeka as "recognised as being distinct for management purposes" because of its genetic and bodily differences from the Fiordland tokoeka.

Conservation

There are about 400 Haast tokoeka alive. Like other kiwi, the Haast tokoeka are threatened by habitat loss and

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

, such as dogs, cats, and

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...

s. In the Haast Kiwi Sanctuary, human beings place traps to catch stoats.

Breeding

The kiwi make nests in a hollow logs, cracks in rocks, or space dug out of the ground. The egg is large and pale green in color. The male and female kiwi both incubate the egg.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q108292140 Ratites Flightless birds Birds of New Zealand Apteryx