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.