Nestor meridionalis
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The New Zealand kākā (Nestor meridionalis) is a large species of parrot of the family Strigopidae found in native forests of New Zealand. The species is often known by the abbreviated name kākā, although it shares this name with the Norfolk kākā and Chatham kākā, both recently extinct. Two subspecies of New Zealand kākā are recognised. It is endangered and has disappeared from much of its former range, though the re-introduction of North Island kākā at Zealandia in Wellington has led to an increasing population of the birds across the city.
The New Zealand kākā was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus meridionalis. The specific epithet meridionalis is Latin meaning "southern". Gmelin based his description on the "Southern brown parrot" from New Zealand that had been described in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham had examined a preserved specimen in the Leverian Museum in London. The New Zealand kākā is now placed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Arthur's Pass National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 4 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orana Wildlife Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Hamilton Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 5 | Auckland Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 6 | Staglands Wildlife Reserve | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 7 | Willowbank Wildlife Reserve | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 8 | Kiwi Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 9 | Ōtorohanga Kiwi House | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 10 | Te Anau Bird Sanctuary | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
Very likely
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a New Zealand Kaka sighting in Rakiura National Park on a given day, based on 1,927 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 80 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February and October–November
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a New Zealand Kaka in Rakiura National Park on a given day, against about 70% in March–September and December, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most New Zealand Kaka sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 parks where we can rate New Zealand Kaka sightings, Rakiura National Park has the highest daily chance: about 80%. Next come Fiordland National Park (New Zealand, about 30%) and Arthur's Pass National Park (New Zealand, about 20%).
Same family: Psittacidae
The closest relatives of the New Zealand Kaka that you can see in Rakiura National Park (family Psittacidae, New World and African Parrots) are Red-crowned Parakeet (about 70%) and Yellow-crowned Parakeet (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the New Zealand Kaka is recorded against all the birds logged in Rakiura National Park (1,927 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.
