The Animal Inside.: Birds of a Feather Flock Together

I was drawing a Great Spotted Kiwi Bird this morning when I realized how similar their feet look like those of the Dodo Bird. Although not closely related to Dodo Birds, a little research led me to determine that these small birds are indeed, the smallest living Ratites, a diverse group of large, flightless birds of Gondwanan origin (most of them now extinct).

Unlike other flightless birds, the Ratites have no keel on their sternum—hence the name from the Latin ratis (for raft). Without this to anchor their wing muscles, they cannot fly even if they were to develop suitable wings.

It was long presumed that the Kiwi Bird was closely related to the other New Zealand Ratites, the Moa. However, recent DNA studies indicate that the Ostrich is more closely related to the Moa and the Kiwi is more closely related to the Emu and the Cassowaries. This theory suggests that the ancestors of the Kiwi Bird arrived in New Zealand from elsewhere in Australasia well after the Moa.

According to British scientists, the kiwi may be an ancient import from Australia. Researchers at Oxford University have found DNA evidence connected to Australia's Emu and the Ostrich of Africa. Upon examining DNA from the Moa, they believe that the Kiwi is more closely related to its Australian cousins.

Take a look at these three birds' feet. They all have three toes on each foot in a tridactyl arrangement, which is an adaptation for running (since these birds are flightless).The Ostrich has two toes on each foot, while the Dodo Bird had four, showcasing their further relation to the Kiwi Bird and other Ratites. I find it truly fascinating how such a small bird (Kiwi) could be closer in relation to Emus than Dodo Birds, who look closer in appearance to one another.