Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A nocturnal, flightless New Zealand parrot (Strigops habroptila) with greenish plumage.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The owl-parrot or ground-parrot of New Zealand, Stringops habroptilus, a large and noteworthy parrot, by some made the type of a family Stringopidæ, distinct from the Psittacidæ.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) A singular nocturnal parrot (Strigops habroptilus), native of New Zealand. It lives in holes during the day, but is active at night. It resembles an owl in its colors and general appearance. It has large wings, but can fly only a short distance. Called also owl parrot, night parrot, and night kaka.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A large flightless parrot, Strigops habroptilus, with greenish plumage, that is nocturnal and native to New Zealand.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Maori kākāpō : kākā, parrot; see kaka + , night.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Maori kākāpō

Support

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Examples

  • A large nocturnal (!), cryptically-coloured (!!) terrestrial (!!!) bird, endemic to New Zealand, the kakapo is a specialized foliage-eater that seems to live on a metabolic knife-edge, rather like the Giant panda.

    Archive 2006-05-01 Darren Naish 2006

  • Strigops habroptilus, the overgrown flightless parrot, commonly known as the kakapo.

    The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004

  • There is a green ground parrot too, called the kakapo,

    A First Year in Canterbury Settlement 2004

  • Strigops habroptilus, the overgrown flightless parrot, commonly known as the kakapo.

    The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004

  • The kakapo is a solitary creature: it doesn't like other animals.

    Last Chance to See Adams, Douglas, 1952- 1990

  • In fact the kakapo is a bird that in some ways reminds me of the British motorbike industry.

    Last Chance to See Adams, Douglas, 1952- 1990

  • The kakapo is a large, flightless parrot from New Zealand and one of the rarest birds of all, with only 124 individuals alive today.

    The Guardian World News 2011

  • The kakapo is a flightless parrot and one of New Zealand's rarest birds.

    Radio New Zealand News Headlines 2009

  • Group head associate professor Dianne Brunton said yesterday that the meeting would provide an opportunity to discuss some of the projects her colleagues and the students were working on, such as kakapo and kakariki research.

    New Zealand Herald - Top Stories 2009

  • Group head Associate Professor Dianne Brunton says the meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss some of the projects her colleagues and the students are working on, such as kakapo and kakariki research.

    Latest Massey News 2009

Comments

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  • A great word, for such a beautiful, tragic and nearly extinct animal. Many people, I'm sure, would have first found out about the kakapo through Douglas Adams' book 'Last Chance to See', and, to me, the word sounds like a race of creatures Douglas would have created for the 'Hitch-Hikers' books anyway!

    October 12, 2007

  • Also k�?k�?p�?.

    February 26, 2008

  • Kakapo found after 22 years

    "A miraculous find by a Kakapo Strigops habroptilus ranger boosts the Critically Endangered endemic parrot population to 91. The flightless nocturnal bird was one of four male Kakapo released in 1987 on a 1,400 ha conservation sanctuary, near Stewart Island, New Zealand. The bird had not been seen since until it was recently discovered booming--its unique resonant mating call--where no Kakapo had been detected before."

    -- BirdLife News-Byte, 2/16/09

    February 18, 2009