Kakapo - Endangered Species

The New Zealand Kakapo is a critically endangered species.  The Kakapo species was extremely abundant when there were no mammalian predators on New Zealand.  As Polynesians began to arrive thousands of years ago and the Europeans in the 1800's, the Kakapo's population began to decline.  Along with people came animals that now were hunting the Kakapo.  Because they lived for so long with no predators, the Kakapo do not have much of any defense mechanism.  They are flightless birds and nest on the ground, therefore they are an easy target for predators.  Today, there are less than 100 Kakapos left.  For conservation, they have funded research to learn more about the Kakapo and their breeding and nesting habits.  They have all been relocated to predator free islands where they are continuing to breed.  Along with low numbers of Kakapo, they only breed every 3-5 years when the mast is heavy.  Researchers have been trying to find other way to feed them or increase mast so they can breed more often.

Kakapo Breeding

The family Strigopidae consists of 3 species of New Zealand parrots which are Kea, KaKa, and Kakapo.  This family of parrots are extremely different from the other two families, Cacatuidae and Psittacidae, in the order Psittaciformes.  Unlike any other parrot species, the Kakapo uses the courtship ritual known as the “lek” mating system. During the breeding season, Kakapo begin their courtship ritual with a series of tracks usually located on ridge or hill tops.  These tracks are connected to a cleared area of land, called a bowl, which forms an area for the Kakapo to perform their booming calls.  These calls are repeated hundreds of times a night and can be head up to 1 kilometer away  The males have a thoracic air-sac which are used to produced booming calls to attract females during the breeding season.  To secure the best courts, males will raise their feathers, spread their wings, raise their claws and make loud screeching noises..  This can continue for three to four months in which the Kakapo will move around the bowls in the court so the booming sounds can go out to all directions.  When a female enters a male’s court, the male performs by making clicking noises and displaying his wings. The females choose the males based on the quality of their display.  When a male is chosen by a female, no bond is formed.  After mating, the female will return to her territory to lay the eggs and raise the chicks while the male continues booming to try to attract more females to mate with.  Because Kakapo are flightless birds, their nests are made on the ground which puts the female and the eggs at risk for predation.   The females are able to lay up to three eggs per breeding cycle and the eggs hatch with 30 days.  The chicks usually leave the nest around 10 to 12 weeks old.  Because Kakapo are long lived birds, with an average life expectancy of 95 years, they have time to mature before breeding.  The males start their booming call around age five and females being looking for mates between the age of 9 and 11 years.  The Kakapo only breeds in years that trees fruit heavily providing a lot of food.  Therefore, Kakapo’s do not breed every year and have one of the lowest rates of reproduction among birds.  

Monk Parrot Breeding

The Monk Parrot in the family Psittacidae and breed in colonies.  Monk Parrot mates form very strong pair bonds.  When breeding season begins, the males being begging displays, mutual preening, and beak crossing.  The female will pick a mate based on the quality of their display.  They use twigs and branches to create communal nests in which all members of a colony can breed.  The nests is one large nests with many different entrances and areas for each pair.  An average clutch consists of 5 - 8 eggs with two broods per season.  The eggs incubate for about 24 days and then are raised by both the male and female.  The offspring are born altricial.  About 40 to 50 days later the chicks will be self- sufficient but stay in the same communal nest.  All members of the nest including the chicks help out with the nest’s maintenance and contribute to the community.

Vocalization of Blue and Yellow Macaw

The Blue and Yellow Macaw is known for their extremely loud vocalization.  They have a shrieking call that sounds like "raaaw, raaaw, raaw."  They are often kept as pets because of their ability to be a talking bird.

Here is link of the Blue and Yellow Macaw's call in the wild: http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/GPVWJPVGVN/Ara%20ararauna%2006h20%2009AUG06%20B%20Hennessey.mp3

Here is a link of the Blue and Yellow Macaw's talking ability as a pet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpv-l3v5P2I&feature=related

Vocalization of the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo has a very loud distinct call.  It is a shrieking sound that sounds like "rack, rack, rack".  Their vocalizations often mask other bird's calls because of how loud they are.  Their vocalization are known to be chaotic and not have any harmonic properties.  You may have heard these calls because Sulphur Crested Cockatoos are often kept as pets.

Here is the link to a vocalization:  http://web2.uwindsor.ca/courses/biology/dmennill/Australia/SCCO.mp3

Morphology

The order Psittaciformes consists of three families: Psittacidae, Strigopidae, and Cacatuidae.  Morphologically, all Psittaciformes have zygodactyl feet and strong curved bills. The family Cacatuidae is recognized as the unique family within Psittaciformes because of their crest and lacking the bright blue and green colors in their plumage.

On this Green Wing Macaw you are able to see the zygodactyl feet and strong curved bill.

Psittaciformes

Psittaciformes is the order of birds which contains parrots, macawes, lories, cockatoos, and New Zealand parrots.  Psittaciformes consists of 3 families, 86 genera, and 355 species.

There is only one family of Psittaciformes found in North America which is Psittacidae which consists of parakeets and parrots.  In the family Psittacidae there are 12 species found in Eastern and Central North America.  These birds are noisy, very colorful, and have zygodactyl feet.  They can mostly be found in the southern part of the United State in Florida and Texas.

Family: Psittacidae (Found in North America)

• Red-Crowened Parrot: A large green bird with a red crown and blue nape usually about 12 inches.  It is noisiest in the morning and evening and is a great mimickers of sounds.  It feeds on seeds, fruits, berries, and flowers. It is often kept as a pet.  Red-Crowened Parrots are found in southern Texas.

• Yellow-Chevroned Parakeet: Mostly bright green plumage with a lighter green on the breast and belly and yellow ends on the wings. It averages 8-9 inches long.  It has a variety of calls which consist of loud high pitched calls in flight, low squawks when taking flight, and chattering notes when feeding.  Yellow-Chevroned Parakeets are located in South Florida.

Family: Strigopidae

• Kakapo: A large flightless parrot and one of the world's rarest birds.  It is the only nocturnal parrot.  It has a yellow and green plumage.  It feeds on plants, leaves, seeds, and fruit.  They breed only once every two to five years when food is abundant.  A Kakapo is found in New Zealand.

Family: Cacatuidae

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo: A White bird with a yellow crest and yellowish feathers underneath the wings that can be seen during flight.  A Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo has a loud voice and is able to mimic sounds and words when in captivity.  It lives on a variety of seeds, nuts, and fruits.  Their breeding season is between December and March when food is readily available.  It is found in East and North Australia and New Guinea.