There are three surviving parrot species endemic to New Zealand (and a number of parakeets).
They parrot species are:
- Kaka (Nestor meridionalis) (Image)
- Kea (Nestor notabilus)
- Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus)
The Kakapo is critically endangered and there are to all knowledge only 126 birds alive globally.
The Kakapo is a strange kind of parrot:
- it is nocturnal (one of only three parrot species)
- it is flightless (the only flightless parrot)
- it uses a lek breeding system (the only parrot to do so)
It is also the worlds largest parrot (by weight) with males weighing over 2kg (and the heaviest ever recorded weighing 4kg).
(# 57 of 100)