TerraNature | New Zealand Ecology - Parrots & Parakeets, Kaka

Flightless
Birds
Takahe Kiwi
Kakapo Penguin
Moa Wren


Parrots & Parakeets
	Kea Kakapo 5 parakeets

Wattlebirds
Huia
Kokako
Saddleback


Gigantism in insects

	Weta Giant worms

	Living fossils Leiopelma frogs Land snails Tuatara

	Big trees Kauri

Kaka chick's 260km flight
"Kupe the young kaka has staff at Wellington's Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in a flap after he flew 130km away and inexplicably came home to roost ..."
New Zealand Herald
1 February 2005

Parrot breeders on alert for feather disease
"Conservation experts releasing captive-bred native parrots into the wild have been warned to be alert for a bird disease turning up in feral Australian parrots ..."
New Zealand Herald
11 August 2003

Stoats threaten kaka
"Stoats are wiping out the females in New Zealand's unique parrot species ..."
New Zealand Herald
19 April 2003

KAKA

The kaka (Nestor meridionalis) is a large forest-dwelling endemic parrot. The two New Zealand sub-species are part of the Nestorinae family that includes the Norfolk Island kaka which is extinct, and the kea.

Kaka were present in great quantities throughout New Zealand forests in the mid-19th century, but declined with habitat destruction, predation, and competition with introduced mammals and wasps.

A kaka happily chewing on a coprosma bush.
Photo credit left and top right: Geoff Moon

By about 1930, kaka were no longer widespread, and were limited to specific locations, normally in untouched forests. It was reported in 1996 that the total population was estimated to be 10,000 birds.

The best flocks of the North Island sub-species of kaka (Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis) are found in large forests at Whirinaki and Pureora. Offshore populations on Great Barrier Island, Little Barrier Island, Hen and Chicken Islands, Mayor Island, and Kapiti Island are successfully stabilized through predator control.

The South Island sub-species (Nestor meridionalis meridionalis) are more widespread in the Nelson Lakes beech forests, and Westland forests as far south as Fiordland. They are also at Halimoon Bay on Stewart Island, and on Uva Island and Codfish Island.

Colour coordination for concealment ...

It almost seems that the coloration of the three New Zealand parrots has been designed solely for the purpose of camouflage. The somewhat austere brown/green feathers of kaka, and the brown coloration of kea suggest they might have been enlisted by the army at some time.

But the underside of the wings of both birds is a different sight altogether, with a brilliant display of scarlet and orange flashes (see kea). Both kaka subspecies are similarly colored, but the South Island kaka is noticeably brighter.

The decline of weka remains a mystery as they are an adaptable, aggressive, inquisitive and resourceful bird. They are known to be a bit of a nuisance in rural vegetable gardens, where their favorite meal includes tomatoes and hens eggs. Weka will also eat food scraps, rodents, and lizards. In their indigenous habitat fallen fruit, invertebrates, snails and the eggs and chicks of ground nesting birds are part of their diet.

International Threatened & Endangered Listing
2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Kaka Nestor meridionalis Vulnerable

Photo Credit
Left, second from top: Kakapo
Left, fourth from top: Tusked weta
Crown Copyright, Department of Conservation
Top right: Weka, Virtual New Zealand
Illustration Credit
Left, third from top: John Gerrard Keulemans 1842-1912, Huia (male and female) Heteralocha acutirostris 1888.
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.