Kakapo | |
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Celebrity kakapo Sirocco on Maud Island | |
Conservation status | |
Nationally Critical (NZ TCS) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Order: | Psittaciformes |
Family: | Strigopidae |
Genus: | Strigops G.R. Gray, 1845 |
Species: | S. habroptilus |
Binomial name | |
Strigops habroptilus G.R. Gray, 1845 | |
Synonyms | |
Strigops habroptila |
The Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) is the only parrot which cannot fly. It lives in grassland, scrubland and coastal regions of New Zealand, but is now so rare they can only be seen on protected offshore islands. Kakapo means 'night parrot' in the Maori language.
Kakapos are most active at night (nocturnal) and like to be alone. To keep other kakapos out of their territory, they make a 'skraaarking' sound. The Kakapo can live for about 60 years.
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