Auckland Zoo welcomed its first new arrival of the season with the birth of a kiwi chick on Monday.

The news was announced on Twitter by the Zoo stating, 'We had a cracking start to our week with our first kiwi chick of the season hatching on Monday!'

The Zoo has confirmed that the new-born bird arrived on Monday weighing 294 grams whilst also stating it is in good health.

This chick is part of the Department of Conservation's (DOC) Operations Nest Egg (O.N.E) programme which is aiming to improve its conservation status which currently sees the bird as endangered.

A spokesperson for Auckland Zoo said, "Auckland Zoo is proud to be part of the kiwi programme. This programme involves taking kiwi eggs from the wild and hatching them in captivity, before reintroducing the bird into its original habitat. O.N.E is a big success, with Auckland Zoo successfully releasing over 300 kiwi chicks to date."

The arrival is boon for conservation efforts with the numbers of wild kiwi dwindling by 2 per cent each year due to cats, stoats, ferrets and dogs hunting the flightless bird.