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 midden deposits show that the bird was present throughout the North and South Island before and during early Māori times. Māori hunted the kakapo for food and for their skins and feathers, which were made into cloaks. They used the dried heads as ear ornaments. Due to its inability to fly, strong scent and habit of freezing when threatened, the kakapo was easy prey for the Māori and their dogs. Its eggs and chicks were also preyed upon by the Polynesian rat or kiore, which the Māori brought to New Zealand. Furthermore, the deliberate clearing of vegetation by Māori reduced