Kakapo Codfish / Whenua Hou and Anchor, where they are closely monitored, and Little Barrier / Hauturu Island is being trialled as a third home for the species. The common English name "kakapo" comes from the Māori "kākāpō", from "kākā" ("parrot") + "pō" ("night"); the name is both singular and plural. "Kākāpō" is increasingly written in New Zealand English with the macrons that indicate long vowels. The kakapo was originally described by English ornithologist George Robert Gray in 1845 and named "Strigops habroptilus". Its generic name "Strigops" is derived from the Ancient Greek "strix", genitive "strigos" "owl", and "ops" "face", while
Kakapo and was well adapted to avoid the birds of prey which were their only predators. As well as the New Zealand falcon, there were two other birds of prey in pre-human New Zealand: Haast's eagle and Eyles' harrier. All these raptors soared overhead searching for prey in daylight, and to avoid them the kakapo evolved camouflaged plumage and became nocturnal. When a kakapo feels threatened, it freezes, so that it is more effectively camouflaged in the vegetation its plumage resembles. Kakapo were not entirely safe at night, when the laughing owl was active, and it is apparent from owl nest