Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS

THE PARROTS

Kaka Parrot

The only widely distributed species is the Brown Parrot (N. meridionalis), better known by its Maori name of Kaka in imitation of its loud cry, which is found in suitable, usually mountainous, situations throughout both islands of New Zealand. The general hue of the plumage is olive-brown above, becoming gray on the top of the head, yellowish on the ear-coverts, and purplish red on the abdomen and over the tail, while the back of the neck is provided with a band of yellowish red; the length is eighteen and a half or nineteen inches and the sexes are alike in coloration. There is considerable variation in both size and color and it is not infrequent to find them almost entirely yellow and red, or even albino.

The Kaka is strictly arboreal in its habits and is a sprightly, active, eminently social, and exceedingly noisy bird, going about in small parties and making the forests resound with its wild, harsh screams.”Being seminocturnal in its habits,”says Sir Walter Buller,”it generally remains quiet and concealed during the heat of the day. If, however, the sportsman should happen to find a stray one, and to wound instead of killing it, its cries of distress will immediately arouse the whole fraternity from their slumbers, and all the Kakas within hearing will come to the rescue, and make the forest echo with their discordant screams.

Unless, however, disturbed by some exciting cause of this sort, they remain in close cover till the approach of the cooler hours. Then they come forth with noisy clamor, and may be seen far above the tree-tops, winging their way to some favorite feeding place; or they may be observed climbing up the rough vine-clad boles of the trees, freely using their powerful mandibles and assuming every variety of attitude, or diligently tearing open the dead roots of the close epiphytic vegetation in their eager search for insects and their larvae. In the spring and summer, when the woods are full of wild blossoms, these birds have a prodigality of food, and may be seen alternately filling their crops with a variety of juicy berries, or sucking nectar from the crimson flowers of the rata (Metrosideros) by means of their brush-fringed tongues.

With the earliest streaks of dawn, and while the underwoods are still wrapped in darkness, the wild cry of this bird breaks upon the ear with a strange effect.”They also become more or less active during the gloomy weather, and occasionally may be seen abroad in bright sunlight, flying and circling with loud screams above the tree-tops.

During the breeding season, which begins in November, the pairs are constantly in each other's company, and the nest is usually placed in the hollow trunk of a decayed tree or in a rocky crevice. The eggs, usually four but sometimes five or six, are white, and measure one and three quarters by one and a quarter inches. The Kaka is a good mimic and talker, living for many years when in captivity, and is often kept as a pet by the  Maories, though it is exceedingly destructive to clothing, furniture, and all that comes within reach of its powerful bill.

 

previous bird species next bird species