Kakapo

The kakapo, sometimes called the owl-parrot, is a species of large, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot endemic to New Zealand. It can grow up to 64 centimetres long and combines a set of traits unique among parrots: finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc, owl-like forward-facing eyes ringed by specially textured feathers, a large grey beak, short legs, large blue feet, relatively short wings and a short tail. It is the world's only flightless parrot and the world's heaviest parrot, is nocturnal and herbivorous, is visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate, provides no male parental care, and is the only parrot with a polygynous lek breeding system; it may also be among the world's longest-living birds, with a reported lifespan of up to 100 years. The kakapo is critically endangered, with a total known population of 325 individuals as of 2026, all of them named, tagged and confined to four small predator-free New Zealand islands, though a 2023 reintroduction to the mainland Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari succeeded; introduced predators such as cats, rats, ferrets and stoats had nearly wiped the species out before the Kakapo Recovery Programme began in 1995.