Bird club to talk about New Zealand native

Can you think of a bird and a fruit that both have the same name? I’ll give you a hint by telling you that neither is native to North America. The bird was given its scientific name and described in 1811 and, beginning in the 1950s, the fruit was imported to the United States.

Many people consider both the plant and the animal a little odd. Congratulations if you thought of the kiwi.

The bird, from which the fruit takes its common name, is a native of New Zealand and belongs to that group of flightless birds known as the ratites. The kiwi is truly an oddity in the avian world. The feathers are soft, floppy and lack a central shaft. The rudimentary wings are so small that they are virtually invisible under the filmy hair-like feathers. The birds don’t have any tail, so the rear end of the bird sort of slopes down to a round rump.

Unlike most birds, the kiwi has a keen sense of smell with nostrils located at the tip of its long, flexible bill. Primarily nocturnal, the kiwi probes in soft soil for grubs, seeds, small amphibians and a variety of worms. There are five recognized species, all of which are on the endangered list.

The birds are monogamous and a pair might spend 20 years together. The female usually lays just one egg each season, and that egg is about one-fourth the size of her body. In fact, the egg is the largest in proportion to its size of any bird in the world. In human terms, it would be the equivalent of a 125-pound woman giving birth to a 30-pound baby.

If you would like to learn more about the kiwi, as well as many other unusual residents of the southern hemisphere, you are invited to the next meeting of the Lynchburg Bird Club scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14 in the Science Building at Randolph College. Our guest speaker will be Bill Leaning, a retired veterinarian and native of New Zealand.

Leaning now lives near Charlottesville on a 17-acre wooded property that he calls “Omanu,” a Maori word meaning “place of the birds.” Since his retirement, he has specialized in photographing the unique birds and plants that are found in Australia and New Zealand.

News and Notes

The Lynchburg Bird Club will sponsor a field trip to various sites in Campbell County on Oct. 10. Meet at 7:15 a.m. at Fairview Square Shopping Center at the intersection of Florida and Campbell avenues. Bring your binoculars and a snack. We will finish around noon. Call 821-1136 for more information. 

I still had one ruby-throated hummingbird at my feeder on Oct. 2. The last of the stragglers are moving through town now on their way south. If you see a hummingbird at your feeder after the end of October, please contact me. In all probability, the bird will not be a ruby-throated hummingbird.

- Dalmas, a naturalist, writes a weekly column for The News & Advance. Readers may e-mail her at .