Kakapo facts you have never heard of

Find out more about animals and nature for kids. Get information about animals & nature and discover interesting facts about Kakapo - an extraordinary and unique bird that is the only flightless and nocturnal parrot in the world – as well as the heaviest!

1. It’s the world’s only flightless parrot. Kakapos can’t fly. They use their short wings for balance and support rather than flapping. Their feathers are much softer than those of other birds because they do not need to be strong and stiff enough to support flight.

2. Even though they can’t fly, they get around. The kakapo has strong legs that make it an excellent hiker and climber. On the ground, they move around with a jog-like gait. They can also climb tall trees and use their wings to help “parachute” to the forest floor. This might be one of the most amazing facts about animals ever seen

3. Kakapos freeze when startled. One of their defenses is to freeze and hope to blend into the background when danger is near. This worked well when their only predators were eagles that use sight to hunt; it is not so successful with introduced mammalian predators that rely on their sense of smell to find prey.

4. They’re nocturnal. Kakapos roost in trees or on the ground during the day and only become active at night.

5. They smell nice. The kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, useful in its nocturnal lifestyle. It also has what’s described as a musty-sweet odor. This likely helps kakapos find each other in the forest; unfortunately, it helps introduced mammalian predators find them, too.

6. They’re friendly. Both the Māori and early European settlers kept kakapos as pets. Even wild kakapos are known to approach, climb on, and preen people. George Edward Grey, the English ornithologist who first described the kakapo in 1845, once wrote that his pet kakapo’s behavior towards him and his friends was “more like that of a dog than a bird.”

7. They’re critically endangered. The kakapo’s problems began with Māori settlers, and intensified when Europeans arrived. Both groups cleared large areas of the kakapo’s habitat and brought with them predators like cats, rats, and stoats that the kakapo had no defenses against. In the 1980s, the New Zealand Department of Conservation implemented a Kakapo Recovery Plan. The Plan involved the rounding up and relocation of kakapos to predator-free islands, setting up supplementary feeding stations for the birds, and sometimes artificial incubation of eggs and hand-raising of chicks. The effort has averted the kakapo’s extinction, but they are still critically endangered. As of early 2012, there were 126 kakapos in the wild. Let’s find out some interesting science facts that will make your day.

8. They’re possibly one of the longest-lived birds. Kakapos live life at a slow pace. Males don’t start breeding until they are about four years old, and females around six years of age. Their life expectancy is over 90 years.

9. Kakapos are sturdy birds. Unlike other land birds, the kakapo can store large amounts of energy as body fat. It’s the world’s heaviest parrot: at about 24 inches tall, it weighs between 4 and 9 lbs.

10. Males court females with a group song and dance. During the breeding season, male kakapos can walk up to 4 miles to reach a special arena where they compete with each other for the attention of females. Each male digs a bowl in the ground, often in an area next to rock faces or banks to help reflect his mating call. To attract females, the males emit loud, low-frequency “booms” that can travel as far as 3 miles. After 20-30 booms, they switch to a high-pitched metallic “ching.” The booming and chinging can go on for eight hours a night, every night for the duration of the 2-4 month breeding season.

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Fun facts about a little know bird - Galapagos Rail Bird

Birds of the family ‘Rallidae’ are called Rails. The Galapagos Rail Bird is a small rail endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It closely resembles the closely related Black Rail of The Americas. It has been threatened by introduced species, such as goats and cats and is considered vulnerable.

The Galapagos Rail Bird is a small (15 centimetres) nearly flightless ground living bird. It has dark plumage, black overall with a greyer head and breast, and white spots on the back. It has a scarlet eye, a black bill, and short, nearly useless wings. They are very vocal with a wide range of calls.

The Galapagos Rail Birds feed on invertebrates, mostly snails, isopods, dragonflies, bugs, ants, also taking berries and some seeds. They feed during the day, moving along the ground tossing leaves and investigating the leaf litter.

The Rail birds body is usually narrow enough to enable them to slip through dense vegetation, such as in the marshes they typically inhabit.

Galapagos Rail Birds ordinarily remain on the ground and are difficult see. They are secretive and sometimes nocturnal in habit. Commonly heard rather than seen, they emit certain calls and squawks characteristic of the species.

These small to medium sized birds have moderate to long legs and long toes, which are an advantage for walking or running over soft ground.

Galapagos Rail Birds often flick their short tails, which are cocked upwards. Rail birds are usually but not always grey in colour, they are sometimes brown and dull red. Their plumage usually has a loose texture, and male and female look alike.

Rail Birds beaks range from stubby to elongate, depending on the species. Rails are omnivorous, but many species predominantly eat small animals. The Rail birds nests are generally well hidden and well separated. Clutches often contain 6 to 12 eggs, and both male and female usually participate in incubating them. When hatching, the young are covered by a black or brownish down in most species and leave the nest immediately after hatching.

About 132 species are recognized, some of which are important game birds.

Species of the Galapagos Islands have independently evolved flightlessness.

Everything about Hoopoe Birds you wanted to know

The African Hoopoe (Upupa africana) is an African bird that belongs to the Family: Upupidae which also includes the Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops) although these are two separate species.

The African Hoopoe differs from the Eurasian Hoopoe by the colouration of the males, females are similar in appearance. The male African Hoopoe has richer cinnamon colouration on its upperparts, lacks the subterminal white band on the crest and has all black primaries. Habits and vocalisations in both species are the same.

African Hoopoes are widespread throughout Africa except in western and central equatorial lowlands forests. Some populations of African Hoopoes are migratory while others are sedentary.

Use the information below to find out more about the Hoopoe Bird’s characteristics, habitat, diet, behaviour and reproduction.

African Hoopoe Bird Characteristics

The African Hoopoe is an exotic looking bird that is around the same size as a Starling. The African Hoopoe measures 25 – 29 centimetres in length, weighs 57 grams and has a wingspan of 44 – 48 centimetres. Their plumage is a cinnamon colour with contrasting black and white stripes on their wings and tails. Their underparts, head, throat and back are also cinnamon in colour.

The African Hoopoe’s wings are broad and rounded and they have a square shaped tail which is black and shows a wide white band. Their heads have a distinctive crest with long chestnut coloured feathers which have black tips. The crest lies backwards when the bird is resting, however, if alarmed or excited, the crest opens up and displays a beautiful circular shape.

The Hoopoe’s beak is black, long and slender and slightly downward curved. Their eyes are small, round and brown in colour and their short legs and feet are grey. As with most bird species, the female Hoopoe is duller in appearance and chicks resemble the female but have shorter crests.

The African Hoopoe bird has an oil gland which produces a foul smelling secretion.

African Hoopoe Bird Habitat

African Hoopoes live in open, bushy regions, thornveld and riverine woodlands in dry areas. They can also be found in parks and surburban gardens. These birds nest in cavities such as holes or crevices in tree trunks, however, they have also be known to nest in buildings, abandoned termite nests, nest boxes, piles of boulders and even under houses. They may use the same nest for many years. Nests are generally lined with grass, debris or dried manure.

Hoopoes are well known for their dirty nests which are smelly due to non-removal of droppings.

African Hoopoe Bird Diet

The African Hoopoe is a forager and forages through leafs with its long, thin beak. It mainly eats insects and earthworms off the ground, however, before it actually eats the insect, the Hoopoe will bang the insect on the ground to remove legs and wings and then toss it up into the air before catching it in its open beak.

African Hoopoes will also eat frogs, small snakes, lizards and also seeds and berries in small quantities. They also eat insect pupae or larvae which they consume by probing the ground with their beak.

African Hoopoe Bird Behaviour

African Hoopoes are vocal birds and have a distinctive call which sounds like ‘Hooo Pooo’ and is repeated 3 – 5 times each time it calls.

African Hoopoes have there own defence technique whereby they will lie flat to the ground, spreading their tail and wings and pointing their beak straight upwards if they are being attacked by a predator.

In flight, Hoopoes are low fliers with an erratic flight pattern and irregular wing beats, however, if being preyed upon by a bird of prey, it can soar very high in order to escape its predator.

African Hoopoes are not sociable birds are generally found in pairs or singular. The African Hoopoe is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying the African Hoopoe bird will seek out a new mate.

African Hoopoe Bird Reproduction

The female Hoopoe lays around 4 – 7 eggs which are blue/green in colour but quickly become brown. The female incubates the eggs for 14 – 20 days. Chicks are born helpless, naked and blind with a sparse long white down. The chicks are fed mainly by the male and then later by both parents. The chicks fledge at around 26 – 32 days. one to three broods are produced yearly by Hoopoe birds.