Kakapo its specific epithet "habroptilus" comes from "habros" "soft", and "ptilon" "feather". The bird has so many unusual features that it was initially placed in its own tribe, Strigopini. Recent phylogenetic studies have confirmed the unique position of this genus as well as the closeness to the kākā and the kea, both belonging to the New Zealand parrot genus "Nestor". Together, they are now considered a separate superfamily within the parrots, Strigopoidea, the most basal of all living parrots. Within the Strigopoidea, the kakapo is placed in its own family, Strigopidae. The common ancestor of the kakapo and the genus "Nestor"
Kakapo Fiordland as a nature reserve. In 1894, the government appointed Richard Henry as caretaker. A keen naturalist, Henry was aware that native birds were declining, and began catching and moving kakapo and kiwi from the mainland to the predator-free Resolution Island. In six years, he moved more than 200 kakapo to Resolution Island. By 1900, however, stoats had swum to Resolution Island and colonised it; they wiped out the nascent kakapo population within 6 years. In 1903, three kakapo were moved from Resolution Island to the nature reserve of Little Barrier Island (Hauturu-o-Toi) north-east of Auckland, but feral cats were