Kakapo Codfish / Whenua Hou and Anchor, where they are closely monitored, and Little Barrier / Hauturu Island is being trialled as a third home for the species. The common English name "kakapo" comes from the Māori "kākāpō", from "kākā" ("parrot") + "pō" ("night"); the name is both singular and plural. "Kākāpō" is increasingly written in New Zealand English with the macrons that indicate long vowels. The kakapo was originally described by English ornithologist George Robert Gray in 1845 and named "Strigops habroptilus". Its generic name "Strigops" is derived from the Ancient Greek "strix", genitive "strigos" "owl", and "ops" "face", while
Flightless bird the lineage. This indicates that the distinctive flightless nature of ratites is the result of convergent evolution. Two key differences between flying and flightless birds are the smaller wing bones of flightless birds and the absent (or greatly reduced) keel on their breastbone. (The keel anchors muscles needed for wing movement.) Adapting to a cursorial lifestyle causes two inverse morphological changes to occur in the skeleto-muscular system: the pectoral apparatus used to power flight is paedorphically reduced while peramorphosis leads to enlargement of the pelvic girdle for running. Repeated selection for cursorial traits across ratites suggests these adaptions comprise a