Part of the answer lies in where it lives – the New Zealand archipelago tucked away in the south Pacific Ocean.

Part of the answer is to do with the bird itself – the features that make it stand apart as a weird and wonderful species.

These features help the kiwi fill a niche normally occupied by mammals such as hedgehogs and anteaters.  In fact, kiwi habits and physical characteristics are so like those of mammals, the bird is sometimes referred to as an "honorary mammal".