Hearing Kiwi in the Whangarei Heads
You can hear kiwi calling almost every night during the kiwi mating season in autumn and early winter. You will have the best luck hearing them when the moon is not full, and there isn’t too much wind. The male kiwi has a loud and piercing upward slurred note that is repeated about 20 times. Often, a female will interrupt his call with her lower, rasping cry, also repeated up to 20 times.
Click on the links to hear their calls.
Once you know what a kiwi sounds like, it is difficult to confuse them with other calls – but sometimes, a morepork will try its best to sound like a kiwi. Click on the link to hear the morepork’s call – and if you listen long enough – you’ll hear how sometimes it might sound like a kiwi.
If you are lucky, you can also hear a kiwi stomp and snuffle their way around the bush or undergrowth as they sniff around for insects.
I Heard A Kiwi bumper sticker
