
Strange Habit: Stranger Bird kakapo: Strigops Habroptilus
Here is an interesting read about strange-looking birds and their habits. By: Srijeeta Majumder Kakapo:- From New Zealand, Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Psittaciformes

The kākāpō is a nocturnal, flightless parrot. And its strangeness doesn't end there. It's critically endangered and one of New Zealand’s unique treasures. There are only 252 kākāpō alive today. New Zealand status: Endemic Conservation status: Threatened – Nationally Critical Found in Codfish Island/Whenua Hou, Anchor Island and Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island Threats: Predators, disease, genetic inbreeding, infertility Unusual about kākāpō The kākāpō is a large green parrot with a distinctive owl-like face and a waddling gait. They cannot fly, but they climb well.
Kākāpō are:
nocturnal
flightless
the only lek-breeding parrot species in the world
perhaps the longest-lived bird species in the world estimated to reach 90 years
the heaviest parrot species in the world – smaller females weigh 1.4 kg and males 2.2 kg. And they can pile on 1 kg of fat prior to a breeding season.
Mating Habits MATING BEHAVIOR
INCUBATION PERIOD
30 days
INDEPENDENT AGE
6 months
FEMALE NAME
hen
MALE NAME
cock
BABY NAME
chick
BABY CARRYING
1-4 eggs
10 Fun Facts About the Kakapo 1. It's the world's only flightless parrot. Kakapos can't fly. They use their short wings for balance and support rather than flapping. Their feathers are much softer than those of other birds because they do not need to be strong and stiff enough to support flight.
2. Even though they can't fly, they get around. The kakapo has strong legs that make it an excellent hiker and climber. On the ground, they move around with a jog-like gait. They can also climb tall trees and use their wings to help "parachute" to the forest floor.
3. Kakapos freeze when startled. One of their defenses is to freeze and hope to blend into the background when danger is near. This worked well when their only predators were eagles that use sight to hunt; it is not so successful with introduced mammalian predators that rely on their sense of smell to find prey.
4. They're nocturnal. Kakapos roost in trees or on the ground during the day and only become active at night.
5. They smell nice. The kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, useful in its nocturnal lifestyle. It also has what's described as a musty-sweet odor. This likely helps kakapos find each other in the forest; unfortunately, it helps introduced mammalian predators find them, too.
6. They're friendly. Both the Māori and early European settlers kept kakapos as pets. Even wild kakapos are known to approach, climb on, and preen people. George Edward Grey, the English ornithologist who first described the kakapo in 1845, once wrote that his pet kakapo's behavior towards him and his friends was "more like that of a dog than a bird."
7. They're critically endangered. The kakapo's problems began with Māori settlers, and intensified when Europeans arrived. Both groups cleared large areas of the kakapo's habitat and brought with them predators like cats, rats, and stoats that the kakapo had no defenses against. In the 1980s, the New Zealand Department of Conservation implemented a Kakapo Recovery Plan. The Plan involved the rounding up and relocation of kakapos to predator-free islands, setting up supplementary feeding stations for the birds, and sometimes artificial incubation of eggs and hand-raising of chicks. The effort has averted the kakapo's extinction, but they are still critically endangered. As of early 2012, there were 126 kakapos in the wild.
8. They're possibly one of the longest-lived birds. Kakapos live life at a slow pace. Males don't start breeding until they are about four years old, and females around six years of age. Their life expectancy is over 90 years.
9. Kakapos are sturdy birds. Unlike other land birds, the kakapo can store large amounts of energy as body fat. It's the world's heaviest parrot: at about 24 inches tall, it weighs between 4 and 9 lbs. 10. Males court females with a group song and dance. During the breeding season, male kakapos can walk up to 4 miles to reach a special arena where they compete with each other for the attention of females. Each male digs a bowl in the ground, often in an area next to rock faces or banks to help reflect his mating call. To attract females, the males emit loud, low-frequency "booms" that can travel as far as 3 miles. After 20-30 booms, they switch to a high-pitched metallic "ching." The booming and chinging can go on for eight hours a night, every night for the duration of the 2-4 month breeding season. Fun Facts for Kids The common English name "kakapo" comes from the Māori "kākāpō" where "kākā" is "parrot" and "pō" - "night".
Kakapo feet are large, scaly, and, as in all parrots, zygodactyl; it means two toes face forward and two backward. Their claws are also pronounced which is particularly useful for climbing.
The kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, which complements its nocturnal lifestyle. It can distinguish between odors while foraging, and it does, indeed, have a more developed sense of smell than other parrots.
One of the most striking characteristics of the kakapo is its distinct musty-sweet odor. This smell often alerts predators to the presence of the bird.
When foraging, kakapos tend to leave crescent-shaped wads of fiber in the vegetation behind them, called "browse signs".
Kakapo chicks are very playful. They like to play fighting in which one bird will often lock the neck of another under its chin. References:- https://animalia.bio/kakapo
Appreciate the creator