Kakapo "New Zealand Earth's Mythical Islands". Kakapo The kakapo (Māori: kākāpō) or "night parrot", also called owl parrot ("Strigops habroptilus"), is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the super-family Strigopoidea, endemic to New Zealand. It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and relatively short wings and tail. A combination of traits make it unique among its kind; it is the world's only flightless parrot, the heaviest parrot, nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate and no male parental care, and
Kakapo nests are intensively managed. Before Polynesian rats were removed from Whenua Hou, they were a threat to the survival of young kakapo. Of 21 chicks that hatched between 1981 and 1994, nine were either killed by rats or died and were subsequently eaten by rats. Nest protection was intensified after 1995 by using traps and poison stations as soon as a nest was detected. A small video camera and infra-red light source would watch the nest continuously, and scare approaching rats with flashing lights and loud popping sounds. All kakapo islands are now rat-free, but infrared cameras still allow rangers