Great Spotted Kiwi

The Great Spotted Kiwi, known in Maori as roa, is the biggest of New Zealand's flightless kiwi species. It has coarse, streaky grey-brown plumage mottled with lighter bands, giving a finely patterned, spotted look at close range, along with the family's characteristic long bill, absent tail, and tiny hidden wings.

It inhabits rugged, often mountainous terrain in the northwest of the South Island, including subalpine tussock country well above the tree line, tougher conditions than most other kiwi species tolerate. Like all kiwi, it is nocturnal, solitary outside pairs, and locates food by smell using nostrils positioned at the tip of its bill.

Key field marks

• Large size, noticeably bigger and bulkier than other kiwi
• Grey-brown plumage with fine pale mottling or streaking
• Long, pale, slightly downcurved bill
• No visible tail; vestigial wings hidden by feathers
• Powerful legs for digging in tough alpine soils

Similar species

• Little Spotted Kiwi shares grey mottled plumage but is much smaller, roughly a third the weight.
• Southern Brown Kiwi (tokoeka), found in overlapping South Island regions, is warmer brown rather than grey and lacks the fine mottled pattern.

Range

Restricted to the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand, including Kahurangi National Park, Paparoa Range, and adjacent ranges.

Habitat

Occupies native beech and podocarp forest as well as subalpine tussock grassland and scrub at higher elevations than most kiwi species use.

Migration

Non-migratory and flightless, holding large stable territories that may span more forest and open ground than other kiwi species require.

Behavior

Nocturnal and largely solitary, roosting by day in a burrow among tree roots or dense tussock and emerging at night to forage across a wide home range.

Voice

Males give a shrill, rising whistle and females a lower, hoarser call, typically after dark, sometimes answered in a duet by a mate.

Feeding

Probes soil and leaf litter for earthworms and invertebrate larvae, relying on smell more than sight, and its powerful legs allow it to dig in tougher upland ground than smaller kiwi manage easily.

Nesting

Nests in a burrow, and the female lays one or occasionally two very large eggs; incubation, lasting around 70-90 days, is carried out mainly or entirely by the male.