The kiwi is the X Men of birds. I’m of the opinion that X Men are cool. You’re human but with a twist. It’s the answer to the genetic question of ‘what if…’ Similarly, the kiwi kinda looks like a bird but at the end of the day it is too freaky to just be a bird. It is in fact beyond bird.
First you have its size. It’s small, the size of a chicken (give or take) but take a look at its egg. Holy sunny side up Batman, it’s HUGE. Six times bigger than that of a chicken. For the last couple days before the egg is laid the female can’t even eat. There is that little space left for her stomach. What a marathon. Fortunately for mama kiwi, papa kiwi helps to look after the incubating once it’s laid.
Then you take a look at it in general. It does kinda look like a bird. It has a beak. Birds have beaks, so that’s normal. But take a look at the end of the beak. You’ll find nostrils. What the? It’s the only bird known to have that going on. Not only does it have a beak/nose, it also has an awesome sense of smell. Even underground. No grubs escape a hungry kiwi.
You’d think it’d have wings. It does. Teeny, tiny wings which are incapable of flight. So its a bird, but it can’t fly, although it does have whiskers. Like a cat has whiskers. Did I mention that its feathers are similar to hair? That its blood temperature is nearly the same as mammals? That both ovaries function? That it has large ear openings? That it has bone marrow instead of air?
The kiwi is the X Men of birds.