Kiwi bird

I thought folks may like to see what a 'real' Kiwi bird looks like - the feathered variety with long beak rather than the one with the ski-jump nose (or Cape Cod look-a-like, as my 5th form geography teacher once described it).

The Kiwi's the sole survivor of the now-extinct moa - both flightless. If you'd like to read more on the moa, Mike Dickison, a fellow Kiwi at Duke, has an excellent web site.

The shot above was taken on Stewart Island, NZ's 'third island', right below the South Island. My brother-in-law, David, was on a deer hunting trip with a group of mates.

Here's also a shot of a local crayfish (kōura). You don't normally see them this size further up the two islands (the 'mainland'). What a feast that must have been!