Kakapo the "booms" (see below for a recording) and "chings" of their mating calls, they will often loudly "skraark". The kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, which complements its nocturnal lifestyle. It can distinguish between odours while foraging, a behaviour reported in only one other parrot species. The kakapo has a large olfactory bulb ratio (longest diameter of the olfactory bulb/longest diameter of the brain) indicating that it does, indeed, have a more developed sense of smell than other parrots. One of the most striking characteristics of the kakapo is its distinct musty-sweet odour. The smell often alerts predators to
New Zealand parrot the phylogeographical dynamics of this family. The kakapo is a flightless, nocturnal species, well camouflaged to avoid the large diurnal birds of prey on the island, while the local owls are too small to prey on the kakapo at night. The kakapo is the only flightless bird in the world to use a lek-breeding system. Usually, they breed only every 3–5 years when certain podocarp trees like rimu ("Dacrydium cupressinum") mast abundantly. The kea is well adapted to life at high altitudes, and they are regularly observed in the snow at ski resorts. As trees are absent in the alpine