Why is this animal unusual?
It’s the only parrot in the world that can’t fly, the only one that’s active at night and the only one with this style of dating. Also the heaviest.
Why does it look like that?
Moss-green feathers for camouflage, a round owl-like face with whiskers, and short wings it uses only for balance and for parachuting clumsily out of trees.
Strangest biological feature
The boom. In breeding season a male digs a bowl in the ground, puffs himself up like a balloon and makes a deep “boom” that can travel for kilometres. He may do this every night for months.
Why is it strange?
Kakapo only breed when a native tree called rimu produces a bumper crop of fruit – which happens every two to four years.
Interesting behavioral facts
When it senses danger it freezes and relies on camouflage. That worked against eagles. It didn’t work against cats and stoats, which hunt by smell.
Records held
The heaviest parrot on Earth, and possibly one of the longest-lived birds. One kakapo, Sirocco, became New Zealand’s official “spokesbird” after trying to mate with a zoologist’s head on television.
