In the House of the Flightless Bird

New Zealand has a unique set of fauna, and, since many species are rare, to fully appreciate them, we decided to pay a visit to the Otorohanga Kiwi House. The kiwi house has kiwi statue outside.

They Kiwi house has a large collection of almost all birds, they being the only large fauna to be found on the island. But the do also have a few other animals mixed in. There are no mammals, because New Zealand does not have any native mammals, not even marsupials.

They do have tataras. A tatara is a relatively primitive reptile, related to dinosaurs, though it does resemble modern day lizards. They also have geckos on display, and a small pool with eels in it. Like salmon, these eels go to sea when young, and return to their birth rivers to spawn. They are in many of the fresh water streams and creeks in New Zealand.

Among the birds, they have many species common in New Zealand, such as paradise ducks, grey ducks, oyster catchers, and the colorful pukeko, which can often be seen near roads and in fields.
They also had the islands' two parrots, the kaka and kea, and native parakeets, as well as the surprisingly large New Zealand Pigeon, a food source for the Maori. They also have the Weka, another flightless bird.



As the name might suggest, the Kiwi House does house kiwi, in a dark, red light lit room so that visitors can see them when they are active, because kiwi are nocturnal. Here they have two kiwis on display, though they keep them separated because they are capable of hurting each other with their long thin beaks. Sharing the airspace over both areas is a morepork, a small native owl. The kiwis run on thick muscles legs, like larger farm chickens. They hunt in the leaf litter of their enclosure, prodding with their beak looking for whatever worms or insects they might find. We were there for feeding time, and they were fed from a plastic cup with a mixture of fruits oats and worms. The hungriest of the pair simply fished around for a worm and slurped it up.

Before we leave, we take a walk through the aviary, where pigeons fly clumsily, tataras lurk, and quail nest under unfurling fern trees.

Just across from the park is a small park established by Otorohanga's Rotary Club. Here grow redwoods that were germinated from seeds send by a Rotary Club in California. The trees were planted in 1971, and so are fewer than 40 years old, and already very tall. This is a pretty little spot and as it's so close by it's worth the visit.