Kiwi Hatched in US

Washington DC’s Smithsonian National Zoo has successfully hatched a rare North Island Brown kiwi, their third since 1975. The Smithsonian is one of only four zoos outside New Zealand to successfully breed the national bird. Keepers had been incubating the egg for five weeks, following a month long incubation by the chick’s father, carefully monitoring it for signs of pipping: the process in which the chick starts to break through the shell. The sex of the chick is still unknown and is difficult to determine by sight, but with DNA swabs scientists hope to decipher the sex in coming weeks.