Kakapo the "booms" (see below for a recording) and "chings" of their mating calls, they will often loudly "skraark". The kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, which complements its nocturnal lifestyle. It can distinguish between odours while foraging, a behaviour reported in only one other parrot species. The kakapo has a large olfactory bulb ratio (longest diameter of the olfactory bulb/longest diameter of the brain) indicating that it does, indeed, have a more developed sense of smell than other parrots. One of the most striking characteristics of the kakapo is its distinct musty-sweet odour. The smell often alerts predators to
Kakapo kakapo has a very small gizzard compared to other birds of their size. It is entirely herbivorous, eating native plants, seeds, fruits, pollen and even the sapwood of trees. A study in 1984 identified 25 plant species as kakapo food. It is particularly fond of the fruit of the rimu tree, and will feed on it exclusively during seasons when it is abundant. The kakapo strips out the nutritious parts of the plant out with its beak, leaving a ball of indigestible fibre. These little clumps of plant fibres are a distinctive sign of the presence of the bird. The