WELLINGTON, March 18, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A flock of New Zealand's flightless kiwi birds briefly took to the skies on Monday, carried across the country in chartered planes on a special conservation mission.

The ground-dwelling kiwi is one of New Zealand's beloved national icons, but it is also one of the country's most vulnerable native birds.

Conservationists have embarked on an ambitious project to restore kiwi populations to the forested hills that surround the capital Wellington.

As part of the project, a flock of 15 kiwi were coaxed from a sanctuary in New Zealand's north on Monday, then flown more than 500 kilometres (310 miles) in two light planes to their new home.

Project leader Paul Ward said it was a "milestone moment".

"I never thought we would see kiwi fly. It's pretty exciting for our kiwi family in Wellington," he told AFP.

Few New Zealanders have ever seen the fluffy, shy, nocturnal kiwi in the wild.

They vanished from Wellington's hills around 150 years ago, as predators were introduced and land was cleared for the growing city.

Monday's kiwi transfer was the first by air, but the Capital Kiwi Project has been releasing adult birds around Wellington since 2022, hoping to re-establish numbers after killing off predators such as stoats and ferrets.

Ward estimates around 75 kiwi now live around Wellington, a figure he hopes to double by May.

The group celebrated last December when the project yielded a pair of wild-born kiwi chicks.

The Department of Conservation estimates there are only about 26,000 brown kiwis left in New Zealand.