Kakapo became isolated from the remaining parrot species when New Zealand broke off from Gondwana, around 82 million years ago. Around 30 million years ago, the kakapo diverged from the genus "Nestor". Earlier ornithologists felt that the kakapo might be related to the ground parrots and night parrot of Australia due to their similar coloration, but this is contradicted by recent studies; rather, the cryptic colour seems to be adaptation to terrestrial habits that evolved twice convergently. The kakapo is a large, rotund parrot; the adult can measure from in length, and weight can vary from at maturity. Males are larger
Kakapo to remotely monitor the behaviour of females and chicks in nests. Data loggers record when mother kakapo come and go, allowing rangers to pick a time to check on the health of chicks, and also indicate how hard females are having to work to find food. Because mother kakapo often struggle to successfully rear multiple chicks, Kakapo Recovery rangers will move chicks between nests as needed. Eggs are often removed from nests for incubation to reduce the liklihood of accidents, such as lost eggs or crushing. If chicks become ill, aren’t putting on weight, or there are too many chicks