Meet the only flightless parrot in the world! The Kakapo hails from New Zealand and is the world’s only flightless parrot. It is nocturnal and the heaviest of all parrots. They can tip the scales at nine pounds! Sadly, the Kakapo is critically endangered and all members of the species are located on remote islands off the coast of New Zealand. Kakapo are sexually dimorphic. They both have similar coloring but other differences will set them apart. Females have a more skinny and less domed head and their beaks are slender and longer. They have smaller ceres and their legs and feet are more smaller and colored a more pinkish grey. Females also have tails much longer than a males. They tend to be more resistant and aggressive than males when handled. Nesting females also will sport a brood-patch on the bare skin of the belly. Because they are flightless, their tail drag on the ground and tand to get pretty ragged. They have super soft feathers compared to stiffer feathers of other parrots which have developed that way since the feathers are not needed for flight. They also have “whiskers” around their beaks. These are used to feel around on the ground as they navigate their way around. This is one neat bird that I would suggest people to research. There is so much to learn about these guys and preservation projects are also in place to help protect them. SO- Look them up, learn and help preserve the species! Suggested sites to research the Kakapo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakapo http://www.kcc.org.nz/birds/kakapo.asp Or enter KAKAPO into the search engine www.clusty.com |
| The Kakapo |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |