Kakapo than females. Twenty-eight males were found to average in one study, and 39 males were found to average in another. In the same studies, 28 females were found to average and 18 females were found to average , respectively. Kakapo are the heaviest living species of parrot and on average weigh about more than the largest flying parrot, the hyacinth macaw. The kakapo cannot fly, having relatively short wings for its size and lacking the keel on the sternum (breastbone), where the flight muscles of other birds attach. It uses its wings for balance and to break its fall when
Kakapo Kākāpō 125 project aimed to sequence the genome of all living kakapo, as well as some museum specimens – the first time an entire species has had its genome sequenced. The project is a collaboration between Duke University and the New Zealand Genomics lab in Dunedin. Before the arrival of humans, the kakapo was distributed throughout both main islands of New Zealand. Although it may have inhabited Stewart Island before human arrival, it has so far not been found in the extensive fossil collections from there. Kakapo lived in a variety of habitats, including tussocklands, scrublands and coastal areas. It