KAKA BIRD

KAKA BIRD

The New Zealand kaka, also known as kākā, (Nestor meridionalis) is a large species of parrot of the superfamily Strigopoidea found in native forests of New Zealand. Two subspecies are recognised. It is endangered and has disappeared from much of its former range.

The genus Nestor contains four species: the New Zealand kaka (Nestor meridionalis), the kea (N. notabilis), the extinct Norfolk kaka (N. productus), and the extinct Chatham kaka (N. sp.). All four are thought to stem from a "proto-kākā", dwelling in the forests of New Zealand five million years ago.Their closest relative is the kakapo (Strigops habroptila).Together, they form the parrot family Strigopidae, an ancient group that split off from all other Psittacidae before their radiation.

The New Zealand kaka is a medium-sized parrot, measuring 45 cm (18 in) in length and weighing from 390 to 560 g (14 to 20 oz), with an average of 452 g (0.996 lb). It is closely related to the kea, but has darker plumage and is more arboreal. The forehead and crown are greyish-white and the nape is greyish-brown. The neck and abdomen are more reddish, while the wings are more brownish. Both sub-species have a strongly patterned brown/green/grey plumage with orange and scarlet flashes under the wings; color variants which show red to yellow coloration especially on the breast are sometimes found.

This group of parrots is unusual, retaining more primitive features lost in most other parrots, because it split off from the rest around 100 million years ago.

The calls include a harsh ka-aa and a whistling u-wiia.

The New Zealand kaka lives in lowland and mid-altitude native forest. Its strongholds are currently the offshore reserves of Kapiti Island, Codfish Island and Little Barrier Island. It is breeding rapidly in the mainland island sanctuary at Zealandia (Karori Wildlife Sanctuary), with over 600 birds banded since their reintroduction in 2002.

Kaka are mainly arboreal and occupy mid-to-high canopy. Often seen flying across valleys or calling from the top of emergent trees. They are very gregarious and move in large flocks often containing kea where present.

The New Zealand kaka eats fruits, berries, seeds, flowers, buds, nectar, sap, plants and invertebrates. It uses its strong beak to shred the cones of the kauri tree to obtain the seeds. It has a brush tongue with which it feeds on nectar, and it uses its strong beak to dig out the grubs of the huhu beetle and to remove bark to feed on sap.

The New Zealand kaka is considered vulnerable (CITES II). It has greatly declined across its traditional range as a result of habitat loss; predation by introduced predators like rats, possums and stoats; and competition from wasps and bees for the honeydew excreted by scale insects. A closely related species, Nestor productus, the Norfolk kaka, became extinct in 1851 for similar reasons.

Predatory mammals are responsible for the loss of an estimated 26 million native birds and their eggs each year in New Zealand.

As cavity nesters with a long incubation period that requires the mother to stay on the nest for at least 90 days, kaka are particularly vulnerable to predation. Stoats were the main cause of death of nesting adult females, nestlings and fledglings, but possums were also important predators of adult females, eggs and nestlings.

In parts of the country, the Department of Conservation and local conservation groups have attempted to control predators of kaka through the use of traps, ground baiting and the aerial deployment of sodium fluoroacetate (1080). Where pest control has been carried out, there has been significant recovery of kaka populations.