Christmas kiwi chicks hatch at Rainbow Springs Nature Park

Christmas presents for the Rainbow Springs Nature Park team came in the form of squidgy balls of fluff with large beaks.

Santa was kind to the kiwi conservation staff who were gifted not one, but two kiwi chicks this Christmas.

One chick from Maungataniwha hatched early on Christmas Day, and was followed on Boxing Day by a second from Tongariro.

A video of one of the Christmas kiwi being introduced shows the little native bird curled up in the hand of husbandry manager Emma Bean.

"This little chick has had a bit of a hard task ahead of it and it has managed to get out of its egg for Christmas Day," Bean said.

"You can see he is sleeping and enjoying the fact that the hard work is done and tomorrow is Boxing Day and he will be all fluffed up and ready to see people coming to Rainbow Springs."

The two chicks will spend their first few weeks at the Kiwi Encounter Brooder Room growing stronger and entertaining visitors, before being released back to their home grounds.

The nature park's kiwi fact sheet states it has one of the largest egg-to-body weight ratios of any bird, with the egg averaging 15 per cent of the female's body weight.

Incubation is done by the male and can take anything from 74-90 days.

When the egg is first hatched, the belly of the chick is swollen with yolk which will sustain the new arrival for the first few days.

A kiwi can live for between 25 and 50 years.

Rainbow Springs Nature Park is a wildlife park located in Rotorua that houses New Zealand's favorite native animals in pristine natural surroundings.

Along with kiwi, visitors can see other birds such as tui, kaka and kea, as well as reptiles and fish.