ZooWeird 45

A doggerel series about odd or little-known animals.

The kiwi is a flightless genus of birds endemic to New Zealand. They belong to the Apterygidae family and have about the same size as domestic chickens do. All kiwi species (except A.owenii) are endangered or threatened. As aforementioned, kiwis are flightless birds. They are the smallest living ratites, which is a diverse group of large, flightless birds like ostriches, emus and rheas. There are 5 surviving kiwi species, with several anatomical and behavioral differences among them. (All animal info from  http://www.strangeanimals.info/2010/12/kiwi.html#ixzz4VTVyWc00)

I asked the kiwi, standing there,

If he liked kiwi fruit.

He stared disdainfully at me,

Said, “You are such a hoot

“That you remind me of an owl—

Or maybe of a stork.”

“A stork?” I asked. “That’s kinda weird.”

“It’s cuz you’re such a dork,”

The kiwi cheeped—and stood there with

A sneer upon his beak.

“Oh, why don’t you just fly away!”

I cried with mucho cheek.

“Oh, that’s so funny!” he replied.

“You think I am a fool?
You human beings, generally,

Are often very cruel.”

And so the kiwi wandered off—

For kiwi fruit, I guess?

But sent some spiders after me,

Which caused so much distress!