Kakapo and stiffness required for flight, they are exceptionally soft, giving rise to the specific epithet "habroptilus". The kakapo has a conspicuous facial disc of fine feathers resembling the face of an owl; thus, early European settlers called it the "owl parrot". The beak is surrounded by delicate feathers which resemble vibrissae or "whiskers"; it is possible kakapo use these to sense the ground as they walk with its head lowered, but there is no evidence for this. The mandible is variable in colour, mostly ivory, with the upper part often bluish-grey. The eyes are dark brown. Kakapo feet are large,
Kakapo affectionate pet by the Māori. This was corroborated by European settlers in New Zealand in the 19th century, among them George Edward Grey, who once wrote in a letter to an associate that his pet kakapo's behaviour towards him and his friends was "more like that of a dog than a bird". The conservation of the kakapo has made the species well known. Many books and documentaries detailing the plight of the kakapo have been produced in recent years, one of the earliest being "Two in the Bush", made by Gerald Durrell for the BBC in 1962. A feature-length documentary,