Kakapo

 

  

The Life of Animals | Kakapo | Kakapo parrots large round male measures up to 60 cm (24 inches) and weighs from 2 to 4 kg (4-9 lb) at maturity. Kakapo can not fly, having short wings for their size and lack of pronounced keel bone (sternum) that anchors the flight muscles of other birds. Unlike other species of land birds, Kakapo can accumulate a large amount of body fat for energy storage, making it the heaviest parrot. At the top of the Kakapo have yellowish green moss, or mottled feathers are prohibited, black or dark gray-brown, stirring well with native vegetation. Belly, tail, neck and face mostly yellow, streaked with pale green, slightly mottled brown-gray. Kakapo has a few feathers notable person driving fine, owl like face, so that the first European settlers called the "owl parrot". Beak surrounded by thin mustaches, or "whiskers" that birds use to test the waters to navigate, as he walks with his head down. Kakapo feet are large, scaly, and, like all parrots, zygodactyl (two toes pointing forward and two steps back). End of the tail feathers are often worn by the constant slip on the ground.

A woman can be easily distinguished from that of men: he is the head narrower and less domed, its beak is narrow and proportionately more of its ceremonies and nostrils small feet and legs are thinner and pinkish gray, and its tail is proportionately larger. It seeks to confront more and more aggressive than men when treated. Like many parrots, Kakapo has a number of challenges. Kakapo is a well-developed sense of smell, which complements its nightlife. The smell is often warns predators Kakapo largely defenseless. It seems that the Kakapo and many species of birds of New Zealand has evolved to occupy an ecological niche, usually filled with various mammalian species (marine mammals not native to New Zealand, three species of bats small). Before the arrival of humans, Kakapo were distributed in all three main islands of New Zealand. Although the Kakapo can not fly, it is an excellent climber, climbing to the tops of tall trees. A woman, he made two trips back each night during the nesting season of its nest to a food source up to 1 km (0.6 miles), and men can walk the house scene of a range of coupling to 5 km (3 miles) during the breeding season (October-January).

Young birds have a fighting game and enter the neck of a bird is often the other under his chin. Kakapo is curious by nature and are known to interact with people. Conservation staff and volunteers engaged widely with some Kakapo, which have different personalities. Kakapo was a very successful species in pre-human New Zealand and one of the reasons for this have been a lot of accessories to effectively avoid predators of local birds of prey, which are their only predators in the past. All four species rose to head the search for prey in the day and avoid the birds of prey, whose ancestors camouflage uniform and Kakapo became night. Predatory mammals, unlike birds, rely on their sense of smell and hearing to find prey and often hunt at night. The usual way for people to track down the Kakapo is the liberation of trained dogs Kakapo is the only type of parrot fly around the world, and only flightless bird that has a lek breeding system. Men are free to assemble in the arena and compete with each other to attract females. Women listen to men, because they show, or "leks They choose a mate based on the quality of its display, if not pursued by men in any way to open a pair bond is formed. Males and females meet only to mate.

Men remain in their camp during the mating season. Fight against birds may leave injury or even kill them. Kakapo is a rare bird in the world that built its current bowls are often created alongside the rocks, banks or tree trunks, to reflect the sound of the bowl itself act as amplifiers for increase the projection of the growth in male mating calls. Each bowl man linked network of trails and paths, which can range from 50 meters (160 feet) along the ridge or 20 meters (60 feet) in diameter around the hill. Men clean their bowls, and traces of debris. To attract females, males emit a strong low frequency (below 100 Hz) calls booming Cup, enlargement of the bag. After a sequence of about 20 loud explosion, a man Kakapo radiates high frequencies, metallic "ching" sound. Men are growing at an average eight hours a day, every man can produce thousands of arrows at that time. Once a woman enters the yard of one of the men, male performs display, in which he sways from side to side and makes a clicking noise with his beak. Once the birds are mated, the woman returned to his home region to lay their eggs and raise chicks. The man continues to thrive in the hope of attracting another woman. Female Kakapo lay up to three eggs per breeding cycle.

The female incubates the eggs is true, but to leave every night in search of food. Kakapo eggs usually hatch within 30 days, with fluffy gray chicks that are totally helpless. Young chicks are vulnerable to predators, like an egg, and the young were killed, many of these predators that attack adults. The men begin to grow rapidly until about 5 years. Usually, women do not seek men, until they are between 9 and 11 years. Kakapo do not breed every year, and has one of the lowest rates of reproduction in birds. Mating occurs only in years when trees mast (fruit heavily), providing an abundance of food. Rimu mast occurs only once every three to five years, and the dominant Rimu wood, such as cod in the island, Kakapo breeding occurs rarely. Another interesting aspect of breeding Kakapo is that a woman can change the sex ratio of offspring depending on its condition. A woman who eats protein-rich foods produce offspring more men (males have a weight of 3% -40% more than women). Women produce dispersion-shifted offspring sex when competition for resources (eg, food) is high and non-dispersive sex when food is abundant. Female Kakapo, will probably be able to produce eggs, even though there are a few resources, while men are more capable of Kakapo to perpetuate the species, when there are lots of things, by mating with several females . Kakapo is associated with the rich folklore traditions and beliefs of Maori. Irregular cycle of breeding birds to understand because of the heavy fruiting or "rigging" the events of different types of plants such as Rimu Maori, which led to credit the bird with the ability to predict the future.