6 February; Kiwis

Today is New Zealand’s national day. Here are 10 things you might not know about their national symbol, the kiwi bird.

1. The name of the bird comes from the sound they make.
2. They belong to the order Apterygiformes and are related to Ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries and the extinct moa, which also used to live in New Zealand.
3. The Māori traditionally believed that kiwi were under the protection of Tāne Mahuta, god of the forest. They used to eat them and use their feathers to make ceremonial cloaks. Nowadays, though, kiwis are endangered and so the Māori no longer hunt them. They make cloaks only from the feathers of kiwis which have died naturally.
4. A kiwi is about the size of a Chicken, but its eggs are much bigger. On average, their eggs are about 15% of the female's body weight and can be as much as 20%, which is comparable to a 120-lb. (54 kg) woman giving birth to a 24-lb. (11 kg) baby. Hardly surprising, perhaps that it is the male kiwi which incubates the eggs while the female goes off foraging for a much needed meal, because the egg has taken up so much room in her body, her stomach has shrunk. The incubation period of a kiwi egg is 75 to 85 days. This is more than twice the typical length of time for birds, and is closer to the gestation period of small mammals.
5. Adult kiwis don’t need to feed their young as they are born with nutritious yolk sacs attached to their bellies. This sustains the chicks for about 10 days. After that they are ready to forage for their own food.
6. There are five species of kiwi: Brown kiwi; Little spotted kiwi (the smallest); Great spotted kiwi (the largest); Rowi (the rarest, with a population of just 450); and Tokoeka, unusual for being more active during the day. Most kiwi are nocturnal.
7. They can’t fly. They do have wings, but the wings are very small at around 1 inch (3 cm). Each wing has a small claw on the tip, which has no known use. Nor do they have the type of developed breastbone which allows a bird to fly, and their bones, unlike those of most birds, aren’t hollow. They make up for it by having powerful legs, which make up about a third of their body weight, so they can shift pretty fast if they need to and could outrun a human.
8. They’re also unusual in the bird world because sight isn’t their primary sense. Kiwi have highly developed senses of smell and touch which help them forage for food. They are the only bird in the world with nostrils at the end of its beak, so they can sniff out food in leaf litter.
9. Kiwi eat worms, grubs, bugs, berries and seeds.
10. They have the lowest body temperature of any bird at 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).

Character Birthday

Melody Lloyd, Viper agent and friend of Violet Parker. Appears in Who’s That Girl?

Who's That Girl?

Matt Webster lives in a tower block and attends a failing school. He dreams of being a spy like James Bond. Little does he know that he is being watched by someone who can make him into even more than that – a superhero.

His first solo mission is to attend a ball at the Decembrian Embassy and discover who is planning to steal a priceless diamond. While there, he meets the mysterious Lady Antonia du Cane, and is powerfully drawn to her. It soon becomes clear, however, that Lady du Cane is not what she seems. Matt’s quest to discover who she really is almost costs him his career.

A modern day Guy Fawkes gathers a coterie around him with the aim of blowing up Parliament with a nuclear bomb. To achieve this, they need money. Lots of it. Selling the Heart of Decembria Diamond will provide more than enough. All that stands in their way is the Freedom League – but the League is beset by internal disagreements. Can the heroes put their differences aside in time to save the day?

Prime Minister Richard Miller and his wife Fiona grieve for their daughter, Yasmin, who has been missing for three years, and is presumed to be dead. Viper agent Violet Parker could hold the key to what happened to Yasmin, but Violet is accused of giving away the organisation’s secrets. She is to be executed without trial. Will she take her knowledge of what happened to Yasmin with her to her grave?

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