Kiwi Experience

Its really rare to spot a Kiwi in the wild. They're nocturnal and shy and many of the species have been ferreted to the edge of extinction. I went to a Kiwi nursing project (they incubate and hatch eggs and care for the young birds until they can be released into the wild). It was close to Rotorua, a town in the middle of beds of hot springs and geysers.

The Kiwis are like no bird I'd seen before: feathers like fur, long beak used to root through the soil while snorting loudly, no tail, tiny stub remains of wings (under which the long beak is still tucked while sleeping). And whiskers like a cat's.