Broad-billed parrot sketch actually shows that the wings are not particularly short. They appear broad, as they commonly are in forest-adapted species, and the alula appears large, a feature of slow-flying birds. Its sternal keel was reduced, but not enough to prevent flight, as the adept flying "Cyanoramphus" parrots also have reduced keels, and even the flightless kakapo, with its vestigial keel, is capable of gliding. Furthermore, Hoffman's account states that it could fly, albeit with difficulty, and the first published illustration shows the bird on top of a tree, an improbable position for a flightless bird. The broad-billed parrot may have
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