The southern brown kiwi, tokoeka, or common kiwi (Apteryx australis) is a species of kiwi from South Island of New Zealand. Until 2000 it was considered conspecific with the North Island brown kiwi, and still is by some authorities.
Taxonomy
Apteryx australis is based on Greek and Latin. Apteryx means "A-" without "pterux" wings, and "australis" from "auster" the south wind, and "-alis" relating to.
The southern brown kiwi belongs to the kiwi family and it is a ratite, and a member of the order Apterygiformes. Like all ratites, its sternum has no keel, it is flightless, and it has a distinctive palate.
A specimen described as Apteryx occidentalis in 1893 is often considered a junior synonym of Apteryx owenii, but a study in 2002 indicated this may be a hybrid between Apteryx australis and Apteryx owenii.
Description
thumb|left|Drawing of dissected specimen, with exposed muscles and wing-claw
It has no preen gland, and its feathers have no aftershafts and no barbules. There are large vibrissae around its gape, and it has no tail, only a pygostyle. It has a length of and the female weighs and the male weighs . Its bill is long and slender with a slight down-curve. Like other kiwis it is nocturnal. The colour of its plumage is rufous with some streaking. Males are more vocal and they both call in an upright position with their legs stretched out and their bill pointing up. spiders, centipedes, and orthoptera, as well as eels and amphibians. || 2008 ||Increasing
|-
|Total (New Zealand) || 27,000 || 1996 ||Declining
|}
Southern brown kiwi live in the South Island and Stewart Island. On the mainland (South Island) they live in Fiordland and Westland. Their range is temperate and sub-tropical forests, grassland, and shrubland, the denser the better.