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
Geography of New Zealand isolation, and this has resulted in a dynamic evolutionary ecology with examples of very distinctive plants and animals as well as populations of widespread species. Evergreens such as the giant kauri and southern beech dominate the forests. It also has a diverse range of birds, several of which are flightless such as the kiwi (a national icon), the kakapo, the takahē and the weka, and several species of penguins. Around 30 bird species are currently listed as endangered or critically endangered. Conservationists recognised that threatened bird populations could be saved on offshore islands, where, once predators were exterminated, bird life