There are 5 Kiwi species living in the country of New Zealand. Here is some info about the 5 different species of this endemic bird.
The islands of New Zealand are home to a lot of unique plants and animals. About 70% of the plants and animals are endemic, meaning they can be found nowhere else on earth. Unfortunately, since the arrival of people many species have gone extinct and thousands of others are under threat. The 5 Kiwi species are the iconic species for the fight to reverse this trend and protect the unique wildlife of this country. As DOC’s website stats, kiwis are a flagship species for conservation in New Zealand.
The 5 Kiwi Species In New Zealand
Brown Kiwi
The brown kiwi lives only on the north island. There are 4 varieties of brown kiwi that are genetically distinct and separate geographically. They include the northland brown, coromandel brown, eastern brown, and western brown.
Rowi
This species, also known as the Okarito Brown Kiwi, lives on the west coast of the south island. In only survives in one small population, making it the rarest of the 5 species of kiwi.
Tokoeka
This species of kiwi is also quite rare, but still has 3 different varieties – the Haast tokoeka, southern fiordland and rakiura tokoeka, and the northern fiordland tokoeka. They are all located on the south island.
Great Spotted Kiwi, roroa
This is the largest of the kiwi species. It lives at high altitudes on the south island. Roroa can be found in the northern half of the south island from sea level up to 1,500 meters. Most commonly it lives in the subalpine zone between 700 – 1,100 meters.
Little Spotted Kiwi
This is the smallest of the species and it used to be the most common. Unfortunately, it has gone extinct on the mainland and now only lives on offshore islands and a couple of mainland sanctuaries.
5 Kiwi Species, But 10 Kinds Of Kiwis
I just want to make a note here about how our understanding can change based on new knowledge. In the past scientists thought there were only 3 species of kiwis.
Over time they were able to look at the DNA of the kiwi and then realized there were actually 5 distinct species (those listed above here). More research has shown that the brown and tokoeka kiwi have several varieties, making for a total of 10 different kinds of kiwi.