Random Thought of the Day

Kiwis.

No...not those.

You've seen kiwis, right? Of course.

But did you know that...

Kiwi eggs can weigh up to a quarter of their body weight? These birds are about the size of chickens, but their eggs are generally six times larger than chicken eggs! This is the biggest egg-to-body size ratio of any animal in the world!

That would be like giving birth to a 40 pound baby.

Or, for those of you incapable of imagining birth, try this:

Imagine trying to poop out a whole watermelon.

Now imagine a watermelon five times larger...

Or a 40 pound pumpkin/5-year-old?

Yikes.

But wait, there's more!

These birds have quite a few mammal-like traits. For example their feathers are loose and hair-like. And they have whiskers! And their nostrils are on the tips of their beaks (only birds in the world with this trait)! And they have a highly developed sense of smell (extremely rare for birds)! And they forage in through the undergrowth looking for worms and grubs! And they're nocturnal! And they burrow!

And these guys don't actually have wings. Their forelimbs have evolved into tiny little nubs! There's basically nothing left!

And they smell really bad. Some kiwi experts claim to locate new kiwi burrows using smell alone! Or they just train dogs to sniff them out (so they can better protect these endangered organisms, of course).

They're just sooo coool!!!