Getting up close & personal with the Kākāpo

What makes the Kākāpo so unique?

The Kākāpo is a parrot unlike any other

• It cannot fly, although it has large wings
• It walks and jumps and is an excellent climber
• It is nocturnal and can be found feeding on the ground or 20m up a rimu tree
• It “skraarks” loudly like other parrots but you might mistake other calls for a braying donkey, a grunting or squealing pig, a booming bittern; and it also produces a nasal metallic noise called “chinging”.

It's a parrot that looks like an owl, or a giant budgie.

Once out in the open, the Kākāpo will reveal its large size, and the startling, mottled moss-green body feathers that provide perfect camouflage in New Zealand's native forest. The softness of the feathers are represented in the second part of the scientific name – Strigops habroptila.

One of the most notable features of the Kākāpo, is its distinctive, musty odour. And then there's the way it looks and behaves.

A closer encounter will reveal that thick, musty Kākāpo smell. Strong and distinctive, the odour alerts dogs, cats, and other predators to the presence of the bird and was a primary cause of the Kākāpo's rapid decline.

People are captivated by the un-birdlike behaviour of this critically endangered parrot. Its waddling gait, curiosity, wide range of calls, and comic antics meant that the Kākāpo was even occasionally kept as a pet by early settlers.

"The Kākāpo is a bird out of time. If you look one in its large, round, greeny-brown face, it has a look of serenely innocent incomprehension that makes you want to hug it and tell it that everything will be all right, though you know that it probably will not be." - Douglas Adams, British author, 1990.