World's Rarest Bird

World's Rarest Bird

1. Imagine a fat green parrot that waddles like a duck, growls like a dog, and has whiskers like a cat. Also called owl parrot.

2. It has wings but it can’t fly. It sleeps all day while other birds are awake. 

3. And it has a strong, sweet smell, like honey. This unusual bird is the kakapo (KAH-keh-poh) parrot.  It is one of the rarest birds on the planet.

4. The kakapo was easy to catch. It lived on the ground and couldn’t fly away. Its strong smell made it easy for Maori hunting dogs to find.

5. The kakapo scrapes a hole in the ground. The hole is called a “bowl.” Then, he sits in the bowl, swells up like a balloon, and makes a deep, echoing noise. This sound is called “booming.” It can be heard up to 3 miles (5 kilometers) away.

6. The kakapo is the only flightless and nocturnal parrot. 

7. This unusual, solitary bird is from rainforests and grasslands of New Zealand.  

8. The kakapo has a life span of about 60 years. 

9. Although once plentiful, there are now far fewer than 100 kakapo remaining in New Zealand; it is a critically endangered species.

10. The kakapo is the heaviest parrot in the world; it weighs up to 8.8 pounds (4 kilograms). 

11. It is up to about 2 feet (60 cm) long. Males are bigger than females. 

12. This bird's soft green feathers camouflage it in its leafy environment. The kakapo has sturdy legs and small wings that are only used to glide from trees. 

13. It walks with its head close to the ground. The face is owl-like. Kakapos are herbivores (plant-eaters). They eat roots, seeds, leaves, buds, cones, fruit, and flowers.

14. New Zealand’s famous, giant, nocturnal and flightless parrot is a remarkable but extremely endangered species, its status exacerbated by the birds having a bizarre, lek-breeding system and the fact that it breeds, on average, less than once in 4 years.

15. An extremely large, rotund parrot. Adult upper parts yellowish moss-green; feathers barred or mottled with black or dark brownish grey; tail feathers pointed and quickly become worn. Breast and flanks yellowish green streaked with yellow; belly, undertail, neck and face predominantly yellowish, streaked with pale green and weakly mottled with brownish grey. 

16. Conspicuous facial disc of fine feathers, so face resembles that of an owl. Bill mostly cream, with culmen base bluish grey; delicate vibrissae surround bill. Iris dark brown; feet large, blackish grey. Compared to males, females with narrower, less domed head; beak narrower and proportionally longer; cere and nostrils smaller; legs and feet more slender and more pinkish grey; tail proportionally longer.

17. Makes various hoarse skraark and hiss calls, but most extraordinary call is low-frequency boom made by males (by inflating an air sac) at a lek in evening. Boom travels over several kilometres and is accompanied by a hoarse ching made at intervals throughout the evening.