Kākāpō
Strigops habroptila G. R. Gray, 1845
CRCritically Endangeredparrots
The kākāpō (Strigops habroptila), also called the Kakapo or Owl parrot, is a medium-sized bird in the parrot family Strigopidae, order Psittaciformes. Adults weigh 1.5 to 2.06 kg, with a representative body mass of 1.73 kg, and it has a lifespan of 60 years.
Quick facts about the kākāpō
It is an omnivore by diet category and a herbivore by trophic level, lives in forest habitat, is sedentary, and checklists record it in Australia. The kākāpō is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, an IUCN threatened category, and its geographic range measures 57.25 km².
- Weight
- 1.5 kg – 2.06 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 64 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 60 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 30 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.35src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 5 years – 9.99 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.333src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Photos of the kākāpō
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the kākāpō live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The kākāpō is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the kākāpō?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Kākāpō” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=K%C4%81k%C4%81p%C5%8D&oldid=1382053112), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the kākāpō sound like?
Is the kākāpō endangered?
The kākāpō is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species.
How is the kākāpō classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPsittaciformes
- familyStrigopidae
- genusStrigops
- SpeciesStrigops habroptila G. R. Gray, 1845
Synonyms Strigops greyii, Strigops habroptilus, Strigops habroptilus innominatus, Strigops habroptilus parsonsi, Stringops habroptilus
Other names and names in other languages (23)
- KakapoEnglish
- KakapoEnglish
- KakapoEnglish
- Owl parrotEnglish
- Owl parrotEnglish
- الكَاكَابArabic
- السَّدَّافُArabic
- الكَاكَابُوْArabic
- البَبَّغَاءِ البُوْمَةArabic
- بَبَّغَاءُ اللَّيْلِArabic
- kakapo sovíCzech
- UglepapegøjeDanish
- CacapoSpanish
- KakapoSpanish
- kakkpapagoi (kakapo)Estonian
- Strigops kakapoFrench
- kakapóHungarian
- フクロウオウムJapanese
- pelėdinė papūgaLithuanian
- kākāpōMāori
- cácapoPortuguese
- kakapoPortuguese
- kakapo sovovitýSlovak
Relatives of the kākāpō
Other species in the same genus Strigops.
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the kākāpō?
The kākāpō is a bird, a parrot in the family Strigopidae and the order Psittaciformes.
How heavy is the kākāpō?
Adult Kākāpō weigh from 1.5 to 2.06 kg, with a representative body mass of 1.73 kg.
What does the kākāpō eat?
The kākāpō is classed as an omnivore by diet category, and its trophic level is herbivore.
Is the kākāpō endangered?
Yes. The kākāpō is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List, which is an IUCN threatened category.
How long does the kākāpō live?
The kākāpō has a lifespan of 60 years.
Which countries is the kākāpō recorded in?
Checklists record the kākāpō in Australia.
How many eggs does the kākāpō lay?
The kākāpō lays 2.35 eggs per clutch, with 0.333 clutches per year, and incubation lasts 30 days.
Who named the kākāpō?
The kākāpō, Strigops habroptila, was named by G. R. Gray, 1845.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Kākāpō (Strigops habroptila). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/k-k-p
“Kākāpō (Strigops habroptila).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/k-k-p.
@misc{k_k_p_2026,
title = {Kākāpō (Strigops habroptila)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/k-k-p},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}