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[00:00.89] Todd: So Rachel, you said that in your home country, New Zealand, there're lots of birds that don't fly?

[00:06.14] Rachel: Yes, there are a lot of birds that don't fly.

[00:08.39] Todd: Wow, so I only new of the kiwi and of course the penguin, but I didn't know of other ones. So first the kiwi. It doesn't fly, right?

[00:17.14] Rachel: That's the famous one.

[00:18.39] Todd: Right.

[00:19.14] Rachel: They don't fly but they can run very fast. I've seen them.

[00:21.64] Todd: Liike and are the kiwi all over? Like are there different types of kiwi?

[00:26.14] Rachel: Yeah, there are several different varieties. They're very rare though, and they're nocturanal.

[00:31.64] Todd: Oh, nocturnal.

[00:32.64] Rachel: I'd say most New Zealanders have never seen one in the wild. I've only seen them in Kiwi parks.

[00:37.89] Todd: Oh, really.

[00:38.89] Rachel: Yeah, you don't see them.

[00:40.64] Todd: So, I thought they'd be like kangaroos in Australia, or something like you go and there's one.

[00:44.14] Rachel: No, they're very precious and very rare. One that you see more often is the pukeko which is ... it looks a little bit like a stork I suppose except it's dark blue.

[00:53.89] Todd: What's it called?

[00:54.89] Rachel: Pukeko.

[00:55.64] Todd: Pukeko.

[00:56.39] Rachel: Ah, yeah, and they're a lot more commom. And takahe is another one

[01:00.89] Todd: So the first one ...

[01:02.14] Rachel: You can see them along the side of the road. When you're driving through the countryside they're much more common.

[01:06.14] Todd: So this pukeko, does it fly?

[01:07.64] Rachel: No, they don't fly.

[01:10.64] Todd: Really, and it's like a stork. It has long legs?

[01:11.14] Rachel: It has quite long legs. Yeah, it a very cute little bird, but it's very dark.

[01:14.39] Todd: How tall is it? Like up to your knee? Up to your hip?

[01:17.39] Rachel: Up to your knees.

[01:18.64] Todd: Really.

[01:19.14] Rachel: Cute little bird.

[01:20.39] Todd: That's awesome. So what was the other one you mentioned?

[01:23.64] Rachel: Takahe. It's very similar looking to that one. It's a little different. It's difficult to tell apart.

[01:31.39] Todd: Really, and it's also kind of dark blueish.

[01:36.14] Rachel: Yeah, another one's a kakapo. A very famous one. It's New Zealand's flightless green parrot. It's kind of like a large fat parrot that lives on the ground.

[01:43.64] Todd: Really.

[01:44.64] Rachel: It's extremely rare. I'm not sure what the numbers are now, but around twenty years ago I think there were only 45 left

[01:52.14] Todd: Oh, that is rare.

[01:53.64] Rachel: Extremely rare, so there's an intensive breeding program for them, and of course nobody's seen those in the wild.

[01:58.64] Todd: Yeah, you have to be careful or it'll go like the way of the Tasmanian tiger.

[02:04.64] Rachel: Yeah, they breed and they nest on the ground. They lay their eggs on the ground, so they're very vulnerable to introduced predators, to any animals.

[02:12.89] Todd: Yeah, I know that, you don't have snakes, but I know that snakes when they got into Guam they like decimated the bird population.

[02:19.39] Rachel: Yep. That's what would happen and that's why New Zealand immigration customs is very strict about what kind of animals you can bring in. We don't even have snakes in zoos.

[02:28.64] Todd: That's smart.

[02:29.64] Rachel: Michael Jackson famously came to New Zealand in the 1980's and wanted to bring his pet snake with him and he wasn't allowed to.

[02:37.89] Todd: Oh, good on you.

[02:39.14] Rachel: There were no exceptions to that rule.

[02:41.39] Todd: Are there any other birds that don't fly? For example do you have penguins?

[02:43.89] Rachel: Oh, yes, there's lots of penguins in New Zealand.

[02:46.64] Todd: In the south right?

[02:47.64] Rachel: Yeah, in the south. Oh, they come up to the north sometimes.

[02:49.89] Todd: Really, that far north?

[02:51.39] Rachel: Yeah, occasionally. The big colonies are down south.

[02:54.89] Todd: Ah, that's amazing. How cool. Any other birds that don't fly?

[03:01.14] Rachel: Not that I can think of off the top of my head. I'd have to look it up on the Internet.

[03:05.64] Todd: No, that's still though ... that's quite a few. That's so nice.

[03:09.14] Rachel: The most famous was the moa of course.

[03:13.14] Todd: The moa?

[03:13.89] Rachel: Which is an ostrich sized bird.

[03:17.39] Todd: Oh, really.

[03:19.14] Rachel: Yeah, but they were ... they were killed off before Europeans arrived in New Zealand.

[03:24.39] Todd: Oh, easy hunting.

[03:25.89] Rachel: They were easy hunting. Yeah. And a big feast.

[03:28.89] Todd: It's funny how when you go to a place, you really want to see like a local animal, so last year I went to the Middle East. I went to U.A.E and Oman, and I just wanted to see a camel. I wanted to see a camel so bad, and I thought like I'd go down the road..

[03:49.14] Rachel: Everyone drives a Mercedes these days.

[03:52.14] Todd: and there'd be a camel, and I was kind of going out in the countryside. I wasn't just in the city, and I never saw a camel, and I was asking people that work there, and they're like, "yeah, you do see them" but I was just so heartbroken that I never saw a camel.

[04:02.14] Rachel: Ooh!

[04:02.89] Todd: It's one of my favorite animals. I just think they look so cool, so when I go to New Zealand, I have to make sure I see a kiwi.

[04:08.14] Rachel: But you'll have to go to the kiwi house.

[04:09.39] Todd: The Kiwi House.

[04:10.14] Rachel: The Kiwi House it's called. Or just look up zoos.

[04:13.14] Todd: And they got 'em?

[04:14.14] Rachel: Yep, they got 'em there. But you won't just see them driving around.