Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Center director Robert Webb told the New Zealand Press Association that the volunteer-run clinic had been overwhelmed by native birds brought in since December, including seven North Island kiwi and about 40 native wood pigeons.
Ground hardened by the arid conditions makes it impossible for adult birds and chicks to peck through the surface to get grubs and other food.
“They just can't probe the ground at all because their little beak is just too soft," Webb said.
He suggested people soak kernels of corn in hot water and put them out for the birds to eat.
The nocturnal birds have become so hungry that they are coming out in the day to find food, quickly becoming killed in the heat of the strong summertime sunshine.
Web said he managed to save a chick estimated to be only 8 days old from a hot walkway in the middle of the day.
Only about 25,000 kiwis are believed to inhabit northern New Zealand, where they have become especially vunlerable to dogs and other pets as they leave their normal habitat.