How do kakapos eat

As night falls, these solitary birds move off to search for food. They forage both on the ground and up in trees. The only time they interact with other Kakapos is during the breeding season. As the breeding season approaches male Kakapos congregate in an area, known as a lek, to display for females.

The males dig shallow bowls and perform a booming sound. Generally speaking, the male with the loudest boom and best spot breeds the most. Females usually only breed once every two or three years. After mating, the female goes off on her own to lay her eggs. Most clutches contain one or two eggs, and the incubation period lasts about a month. Once the chicks are about three and a half months old, they venture off on their own. Animals Network.

Red Angus. Paint Horse. Black Sole. Expert Recommendations. Diet and Nutrition Kakapos are herbivores frugivores, granivores, folivores. Diet Herbivore, Frugivore, Granivore, Folivore. Population Trend. Critically endangered CR. Population Population threats Kakapos were once New Zealand's third most common bird and they were widespread on all three main islands.

Kakapo feet are large, scaly, and, as in all parrots, zygodactyl; it means two toes face forward and two backward. Their claws are also pronounced which is particularly useful for climbing. The kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, which complements its nocturnal lifestyle. It can distinguish between odors while foraging, and it does, indeed, have a more developed sense of smell than other parrots. One of the most striking characteristics of the kakapo is its distinct musty-sweet odor.

This smell often alerts predators to the presence of the bird. When foraging, kakapos tend to leave crescent-shaped wads of fiber in the vegetation behind them, called "browse signs". Kakapo chicks are very playful. They like to play fighting in which one bird will often lock the neck of another under its chin. The kakapo was a very successful species in pre-human New Zealand and was well adapted to avoid the birds of prey which were their only predators.

As well as the New Zealand falcon, there were two other birds of prey in pre-human New Zealand: Haast's eagle and Eyles' harrier. All these raptors soared overhead searching for prey in daylight, and to avoid them the kakapo evolved camouflaged plumage and became nocturnal. He once wrote in a letter to an associate that his pet kakapo's behavior towards him and his friends was "more like that of a dog than a bird".

References 1. Birds of New Zealand. Threatened Species of New Zealand. Related Animals Galah. White Cockatoo. Yellow-Crested Cockatoo. Hand-rearing kakapo Strigops habroptilus , Breeding biology of kakapo Strigops habroptilus on offshore island sanctuaries, Elliott, G. A simulation of the future of kakapo. Productivity of kakapo Strigops habroptilus on offshore island refuges.

Intensive management of a critically endangered species: the kakapo. Biological Conservation 99 : Farrimond, M. Home range size of kakapo Strigops habroptilus on Codfish Island. Growth and fledging of kakapo. Harper, G. What triggers nesting of kakapo Strigops habroptilus? Agonistic display and social interaction between female kakapo Strigops habroptilus.

Higgins, P. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Jansen, P. Kakapo recovery: the basis of decision-making. Powlesland, R. A parrot apart: the natural history of the kakapo Strigops habroptilus and the context of its conservation management. Raubenheimer, D. The challenge of supplementary feeding: can geometric analysis help save the kakapo.

Robertson, B. The role of genetics in kakapo recovery. Walsh, J. Seasonal changes in home range and habitat selection by kakapo Strigops habroptilus on Maud Island. Wilson, D. Wood, J. In Miskelly, C. New Zealand Birds Online. Occasionally, they also dine on tiny reptiles, bugs and larvae. The season also has an influence on the kakapo diet. Although kakapos readily eat a wide array of plants and fruits such as berries, their true meal preference lies in the rimu tree's fruit.

In times when this specific fruit is readily available, kakapos tend to feed solely on it. Rimu tree fruit definitely is the kakapo favorite. Kakapos possess specialized beaks that enable them to pulverize their sustenance within their mouths. Although the majority of birds utilize their gizzards for these chewing purposes, kakapos' gizzards are rather futile.