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,
Glossary of bird terms this glossary does not contain individual entries on any of the approximately 9,700 recognized living individual bird species of the world. Glossary of bird terms The following is a glossary of common English language terms used in the description of birds—warm-blooded vertebrates of the class Aves, characterized by , the ability to in all but the approximately 60 extant species of flightless birds, toothless, , the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Among other details such as size, proportions and shape, terms defining bird features developed and are used