What makes the kakapo so unique?
One of the most notable features of the kakapo, is its distinctive, musty odour.
And then there's the way it looks and behaves...
It's a parrot that looks like an owl, or a giant budgie
• 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”.
Once out in the open, the kakapo 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.
A closer encounter will reveal that thick, musty kakapo 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 kakapo'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 kakapo was even occasionally kept as a pet by early settlers
. "The kakapo 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.
