Watch: Dancing kiwi shakes tail feathers at Orokonui Ecosanctuary

Orokonui Ecosanctuary head ranger Kelly Gough said the kiwi was most likely a bird called Rawiri, who had been at the sanctuary since May. Photo / Otago Dailty Times

The secret night-time habits of a little kiwi at Orokonui Ecosanctuary have been captured on tape.

Footage of a kiwi apparently "dancing" around a feeder has been posted online by staff at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, near Dunedin.

It shows one of the Ecosanctuary's little birds hopping around a feeding station just before 7am, "right before this little kiwi would have gone to bed for the day".

"Clearly being up all night hadn't tired this bird out!" the post said.

Orokonui Ecosanctuary head ranger Kelly Gough said the kiwi was most likely a bird called Rawiri, who had been at the sanctuary since May. He was born in December last year.

Gough believed it was one of the best videos the sanctuary had captured. She did not think the behaviour was too unusual for kiwis, which did " tend to bounce around a lot" when they were young. They were very good jumpers and sometimes jumped right over the feeders, which they often hung around.

Gough thought this little kiwi might have been "practising his fight moves" or just had a lot of energy to burn.