Brown Kiwi Egg

KO-182 $48.00

The kiwi only lives in New Zealand and mostly in forested areas. It belongs to the order Struthioniformes, which also includes ostriches, cassowaries, emus and rheas, as well as the extinct moa. Nocturnal and rarely seen, the kiwi generally lays one very large egg, which is the largest egg in proportion to the adult body. That egg practically fills the mother's entire body cavity as can be seen in SC-165, the kiwi skeleton with egg inside. Growing to about the size of a chicken, this flightless bird has a keen sense of smell (unusual for birds) and can outrun a human. Their sharp claws enable them to defend themselves rather well by kicking and slashing, much like their much larger cousins, the ostrich. We are grateful to the Zoological Society of San Diego for lending us this remarkable specimen for casting.