Kiwis are omnivores and eat a wide variety of foods including invertebrates such as worms, beetles, spiders, and insects. They also consume plant material like berries, seeds, and leaves. Some species even eat fungi, frogs, freshwater crayfish, and small eels. Kiwis forage using their long beaks to probe soil and leaf litter, and they swallow small stones to help digest tough food in their gizzards. Their diet is closely tied to their breeding success, as they need to build up energy reserves during the breeding season. In captivity, their diet is carefully matched to what they would eat in the wild, sometimes including finely chopped beef and cat biscuits as substitutes for natural prey.

In summary, kiwis eat mostly:

• Invertebrates: earthworms (native and exotic), beetles, weta, centipedes, spiders, snails, and insects.
• Plant materials: berries, seeds, leaves (like totara, hinau, miro, coprosma, and hebe).
• Occasionally fungi, frogs, crayfish, and small eels.

Their varied diet allows them to thrive in diverse habitats across New Zealand.