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
Flightless bird was largely absent, the wing structure has not been lost except in the New Zealand moas. Ostriches are the fastest running birds in the world and emus have been documented running 50 km/hr. At these high speeds, wings are necessary for balance and serving as a parachute apparatus to help the bird slow down. Wings are hypothesized to have played a role in sexual selection in early ancestral ratites and were thus maintained. This can be seen today in both the rheas and ostriches. These ratites utilize their wings extensively for courtship and displays to other males. Sexual selection also