"Distinctive features include a long and slightly curved bill with nostrils near the tip, a cone-shaped body (because of reduced pectoral development) that tapers markedly to a strong neck and comparatively small head, powerful muscular legs which make up one third of the total weight, small eyes, large ear apertures and many long tactile bristles about the face and base of the bill. The s, which end in a claw, are very small (40–50 ) and there is no external tail. The is loose and hair-like and does not change in form throughout life. Its neotenous characteristics of having weak barbs and lacking aftershafts gives kiwis a permanently shaggy appearance. Depending upon condition of the bird and time of year, plumage represents between 4.7 and 6.8 per cent of the body weight."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Brian Edward Reid and Gordon Roy Williams in: |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|year=2012|isbn=940101941X|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8PrtCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA302|pages=301–330}} (quote from p. 301; pbk reprint of 1975 1st edition published by Dr. Wilhelm Junk b.v. Publishers, The Hague)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Apteryx
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Apteryx
3 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Apteryx →
Related Quotes
"... the Kiwi (Apteryx) ... runs rapidly, but has no power of flight. Its body is covered with a thick coating of almo…"
"We describe ' , a new species of kiwi based on a 1-million-year-old from shallow marine sediment in the . The fossil …"
"Iceland is the stronghold of the with the majority of the world's population. Thus, it is not surprising that the spe…"
"The breeds from France and the in the south to as far north as there is ice-free land and has been studied throughout…"
"Most s winter well offshore in the central North Pacific. There are about one million individuals, with 86% in North …"
"The first scientific studies of Puffins were by on between 1927 and 1939, rather as a sideline to his pioneering work…"
"Iceland is by far and away the Puffin capital of the North Atlantic, supporting around 2.5–3 million pairs. In 1994 i…"
"For a seabird, the is diminutive. It stands just 18–20cm (7–8in), which is about as tall as a paperback novel, and it…"
"... the young puffin, unlike the young , is lively and active at birth, and can soon walk about. Protected by a thick…"
"All birds have upper and and lower eyelids. They protect the eyes and are closed when the bird sleeps. Birds also hav…"