New Zealand parrotThe New Zealand parrot family, Strigopidae, consists of at least three genera of parrots – Nestor, Strigops, the fossil Nelepsittacus, and probably the fossil Heracles. The genus Nestor consists of the kea, kākā, Norfolk kākā and Chatham kākā, while the genus Strigops contains the kākāpō. All extant species are endemic to New Zealand.
ParrotParrots (order Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines () from the name of the type genusPsittacus, are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genera, found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The four families are the Psittaculidae (Old World parrots), Psittacidae (African and New World parrots), Cacatuidae (cockatoos), and Strigopidae (New Zealand parrots).
Flightless birdFlightless birds are birds that cannot fly, as they have, through evolution, lost the ability. There are over 60 extant species, including the well-known ratites (ostriches (Struthio), emus (Dromaius), cassowaries (Casuarius), rheas, kiwis (Apteryx)), and penguins (Sphenisciformes). The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail (length 12.5 cm, weight 34.7 g).
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It comprises two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga.
Sexual dimorphismSexual dimorphism is the condition where different sexes of the same species exhibit different morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecious species, which consist of most animals and some plants. Differences may include secondary sex characteristics, size, weight, color, markings, or behavioral or cognitive traits.
Parental care in birdsParental care refers to the level of investment provided by the mother and the father to ensure development and survival of their offspring. In most birds, parents invest profoundly in their offspring as a mutual effort, making a majority of them socially monogamous for the duration of the breeding season. This happens regardless of whether there is a paternal uncertainty.
Facial discIn ornithology, the facial disc is the concave collection of feathers on the face of some birds—most notably owls—surrounding the eyes. The of the facial disc forms a circular paraboloid that collects sound waves and directs those waves towards the bird's ears.
Lek matingA lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners with which to mate. It can also refer to a space used by displaying males to defend their own share of territory for the breeding season.
Basal metabolic rateBasal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate of energy expenditure per unit time by endothermic animals at rest. It is reported in energy units per unit time ranging from watt (joule/second) to ml O2/min or joule per hour per kg body mass J/(h·kg). Proper measurement requires a strict set of criteria to be met.
EndemismEndemism is the state of a species being found only in a singular defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer) is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be endemic to that particular part of the world.Polygyny in animalsPolygyny (; from Neo-Greek πολυγυνία, from πολύ- (polú-) 'many' and γυνή (gunḗ) 'woman, wife') is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a few males. Systems where several females mate with several males are defined either as promiscuity or polygynandry.
Nocturnal animalNocturnality is a behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is nocturnal, with diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed senses of hearing, smell, and specially adapted eyesight. Some animals, such as ferrets, have eyes that can adapt to both low-level and bright day levels of illumination (see metaturnal).*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.