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
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