Haast tokoeka

The Haast tokoeka or Haast kiwi (Apteryx australis 'Haast') is a putative subspecies of the southern brown kiwi. It is one of the rarest kiwi in New Zealand.^[1][2] Like other kiwi, this bird is flightless.^[3]

'Haast'
Conservation status
Nationally Critical (NZ TCS)[1][2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Infraclass:	Palaeognathae
Order:	Apterygiformes
Family:	Apterygidae
Genus:	Apteryx
Species:	A. australis
Population:	'Haast'

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.^[3]

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.^[1][4]

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.^[3][5][6]

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.^[3]

Conservation

There are about 400 Haast tokoeka alive.^[1] Like other kiwi, the Haast tokoeka are threatened by habitat loss and invasive species, such as dogs, cats, and stoats.

In the Haast Kiwi Sanctuary, human beings place traps to catch stoats.^[1]

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.^[3]