Apterygidae Kiwis

Kiwis are perhaps the birds that most resemble mammals. They have a mammal-like body temperature, poor vision, almost no wings, and non-feathery, hair-like plumage. Their excellent sense of smell is tied to nostrils and numerous nerve-endings at the end of a long flexible bill, which they use to probe for prey in the undergrowth and duff of New Zealand forests. Kiwis are also quite adept at catching aquatic prey, and the fleshy valves on these nostrils appear to serve the birds well when they forage in forest streams. Kiwis are nocturnal and nest in self-excavated underground tunnels, and the females lay proportionally the largest egg of any bird. In most species, only males incubate, and helpers sometimes assist.