Strigops habroptila
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The kākāpō (Māori: [ˈkaːkaːpɔː]; pl.: kākāpō; Strigops habroptilus), sometimes known as the owl-parrot, is a species of large, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the superfamily Strigopoidea. It is endemic to New Zealand.
Kākāpō can be up to 64 cm (25 in) long. They have a combination of unique traits among parrots: finely blotched yellow–green plumage, a distinct facial disc, owl-like forward-facing eyes with surrounding discs of 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, the world's heaviest parrot, and also is nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate, and does not have male parental care. It is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds, with a reported lifespan of up to 100 years. Adult males weigh around 1.5–3 kilograms (3.3–6.6 lb); the equivalent figure for females is 0.950–1.6 kilograms (2.09–3.53 lb).
The anatomy of the kākāpō typifies the tendency of bird evolution on oceanic islands. With few predators and abundant food, kākāpō exhibit island syndrome development, having a generally robust torso physique at the expense of flight abilities, resulting in reduced shoulder and wing muscles, along with a diminished keel on the sternum. Like many other New Zealand bird species, the kākāpō was historically important to Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. It appears in Māori mythology. Largely hunted in the past, it was used by the Māori both for its red meat and for its feathers.
The kākāpō is critically endangered; the total known population of living individuals is 325 (as of 2026). Known individuals are named, tagged and confined to four small New Zealand islands, all of which are clear of predators; however, in 2023, a reintroduction to mainland New Zealand (Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari) was accomplished. Introduced mammalian predators, such as cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats almost wiped out the kākāpō. All conservation efforts were unsuccessful until the Kākāpō Recovery Programme began in 1995. Wikipedia →
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New Zealand · 2015
© Johannes Fischer · XC295659 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiwi Valley Farm Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Zoo Băneasa | 🇷🇴 Romania | |
| 3 | Zoológico de Concepción | 🇨🇱 Chile |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Kakapo sighting in Fiordland National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 51st most-seen of the 94 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Kakapo in Fiordland National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May, July and September–March, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Kakapo sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Fiordland National Park, in our data
Fiordland National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Kakapo sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Psittacidae
The closest relatives of the Kakapo that you can see in Fiordland National Park (family Psittacidae, New World and African Parrots) are Kea (about 40%), New Zealand Kaka (about 30%) and Yellow-crowned Parakeet (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Kakapo is recorded against all the birds logged in Fiordland National Park (9 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
