Kakapo

About Kakapo in brief

The kakapo is a large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the super-family Strigopoidea, endemic to New Zealand. It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and relatively short wings and tail. Kakapo is critically endangered; the total known adult population is 209 living individuals, all of which are named and tagged. It is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system, and possibly one of the world’s longest-living birds. Its anatomy typifies the tendency of bird evolution on oceanic islands, with few predators and abundant food. It was historically important to Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, appearing in many of their traditional legends and folklore. The introduction of predators such as cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats during British colonisation almost wiped out the kakapos. Most kakajo are kept on two predator-free islands, Codfish Whenua Hou and Anchor, where they are closely monitored, and Little Barrier Hauturu Island is being trialled as a third home for the species. The common English name \”kakapo\” comes from the Mā Mori + pō ; the name is both singular and plural. The name is increasingly written in New Zealand English with the macrons that indicate long vowels.

It can vary from 4 to 4.5cm in length, and can vary in weight from 0. 95 to 0.95kg at maturity. Twenty-eight males were found to average 2.06kg in one study, and another another found males to average 1. 28kg, respectively. Kakapos are the heaviest living parrot on average, and weigh about 400 gg on average. The Kakapo cannot fly, having relatively short, short wings for its size and lacking the keel for its wings, having its wings lacking the short, relatively short keel on the sternum. The species is the most basal of all living parrots, and is placed in its own family, Strigsopidae. It became isolated from the remaining parrot species when New Zealand broke off from Gondwana, around 82 million years ago. Around 30 million years ago, the k Kakapo diverged from the genus Nestor, and became a separate superfamily within the parrots. The most basal parrot genus is Strigops. Earlier ornithologists felt that the Kākā might be related to the ground parrots and night parrots of Australia due to their similar colouration, but this is contradicted by recent studies. The cryptic colour seems to be adaptation to terrestrial habits that evolved twice convergently in two convergent convergences. The Kaka is a rotund, rotund parrot, which can vary from 4 to 2.5 cm in length.