Justification This species only survives in a tiny population on four offshore islands and therefore qualifies as Critically Endangered. With the instigation of intensive management in 1995, numbers are now increasing, but the population trend over the last three generations has still been negative.

Family/Sub-family Psittacidae

Species name author Gray, 1845

Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Turbott (1990)

Synonyms Strigops habroptilus Turbott (1990), Strigops habroptilus Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Strigops habroptilus BirdLife International (2004), Strigops habroptilus BirdLife International (2000), Strigops habroptilus Collar et al. (1994), Strigops habroptilus Collar and Andrew (1988)

Taxonomic note Gender agreement of species name follows David and Gosselin (2002b).

Identification 58-64 cm. Flightless, nocturnal, lek-breeding, green parrot. Moss-green upperparts. Greenish-yellow underparts. Brown-and-yellow mottling of feathers. Owl-like facial disk. Male has broader head, larger bill. Weighs up to 4 kg. Female c.65% male weight. Voice Males 'boom' repetitively at night to attract females, often audible for up to 5 km, for three to five months in some years.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

93

decreasing

26 km²

Yes

Range & population Strigops habroptila formerly occurred throughout most of the North, South and Stewart Islands, New Zealand. Although it disappeared from most of its original range in the wake of human colonisation, the species remained abundant in Fiordland and some other higher-rainfall and more sparsely inhabited parts of South Island until the early twentieth century¹. By 1976, however, the known population had been reduced to 18 birds, all males, all in Fiordland. In 1977, a rapidly declining population of c.150 birds was discovered on Stewart Island. Between 1980 and 1992, 61 remaining Stewart Island birds were transferred to offshore islands^3,7,8,10, and are presently located on Codfish and Anchor Islands¹⁶. The last accepted North Island record was in 1927, the last South Island record of three males in Fiordland in 1987, and the last Stewart Island record of a female found and transferred to Codfish Island in 1997¹⁷. In 2009 a male which was one of four transferred from Stewart to Codfish in 1987 was refound after having been missing for 21 years²³. It is likely to be extinct in its natural range, and as of November 2005 birds were present on four islands: Codfish, Chalky, Anchor and Maud¹⁷. In 1999, 26 females and 36 males survived⁹, comprising 50 individuals of breeding age, six subadults and six juveniles. The population stabilised, and has begun to slowly increase^3,4,10 following the implementation of intensive management^3,9,10. By 2005, the kakapo population stood at 86¹³, of which 52 were breeding adults (21 females and 31 males) and 34 were juveniles^12,13, and a productive breeding year in 2009 saw the total population increase to 111 birds, including 20 chicks²⁴.

Ecology: This large, flightless, nocturnal parrot feeds on leaves, stems, roots, fruit, nectar and seeds and prior to human colonisation it formerly inhabited a range of vegetation types throughout most of the North, South and Stewart Islands. It breeds once every two to five years, coinciding with periodic superabundant seeding or fruiting periods of key podocarp plant species: on Codfish, Stewart and Pearl Islands nesting has only occurred when rimu Dacrydium cupressinum or pink pine Halocarpus biformis fruit has been abundant¹⁸. Males cluster in traditional lekking sites and advertise their presence by calling each night for about three months, with mating occurring mainly between January and early March¹⁷. 1-4 eggs are laid, all parental care is performed by the female, and eggs and chicks are left unattended for several hours at night. Female kakapo take nine to 11 years to reach breeding age, and may live at least 90 years¹². One productive male is at least 30 years old, and probably much older. Adult survivorship is now more than 99% per year^{1,2,3,5,8,9,10}.

Threats On Stewart Island, over 50% of monitored adults were killed each year by cats¹. Abnormally low egg fertility and exceedingly low natural reproductive and recruitment rates are major concerns. In 2004, three juveniles died of septicaemia caused by the bacteria Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae (erysipelas), a disease which had not previously been reported in the species¹².

Conservation measures underway CITES Appendix I and II. Supplementary feeding has increased the success of breeding attempts, and may be able to be used to trigger breeding: supplementary foods with low macronutrient:calcium ratios may be most effective in supporting increased reproduction^3,10,19,21. All individuals are radio-tagged, and tracked throughout the year. Each nest is monitored continuously using infra-red video cameras, and heat pads are placed over eggs and nestlings while females forage. In 1998, the Polynesian rat Rattus exulans (a predator of eggs and nestlings) was eradicated from Codfish¹⁰. Extensive research is ongoing^4,6. Methods of hand-rearing chicks are being refined. Reducing supplementary feeding levels has been shown to increase the percentage of female chicks produced and may redress the skewed gender balance^11,15. Genetic diversity of the remaining population is managed to improve hatching rates¹⁴. Translocations have been carried out to take advantage of locally abundant food supplies and increase the frequency of breeding attempts¹⁴. Trials of artificial insemination methods have taken place²⁰, and in 2009 a female which had been artificially inseminated laid two fertile eggs²³. In 2008 seven chicks hatched on Codfish Island were transferred to specialised facilities to be hand-raised as rimu fruit failed to ripen²². A search for any remaining birds in Fiordland was completed in 2006 with no birds found and no evidence of their continued existence. A Kakapo Recovery Plan (the third since 1989), produced in partnership between the Department of Conservation, Forest & Bird and Rio Tinto Alcan (formerly Comalco), covers the period 2006-2015.

Conservation measures proposed Continue research to identify key factors that limit breeding frequency and productivity, and address these urgently². Maintain existing management practices that have facilitated a recent increase in the population.

References 1. Clout and Merton (1998). 2. Cresswell (1996). 3. Higgins (1999). 4. P. Jansen in litt. (1999). 5. Lloyd and Powlesland (1994). 6. Merton (1997). 7. Merton (1998). 8. Merton and Clout (1998). 9. Merton and Clout (1999). 10. Merton et al. (1999). 11. Clout et al. (2002). 12. P. Jansen in litt. (2004). 13. D. Merton in litt. (2005). 14. Merton (2006). 15. Robertson et al. (2006). 16. R. J. Moorhouse in litt. (2007). 17. Powlesland et al. (2006). 18. Harper et al. (2006). 19. Anon (2008). 20. Anon (2008b). 21. Raubenheimer & Simpson (2006). 22. Hirschfeld (2008). 23. Anon (2009). 24. D. Gordon in litt. (2009).

Further web sources of information

Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) species/site profile. This species has been identified as an AZE trigger due to its IUCN Red List status and limited range.

Kakapo Recovery Programme

New Zealand Govt - Dept of Conservation - Recovery Plan - Part 1

New Zealand Govt - Dept of Conservation - Recovery Plan - Part 2

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Rachel McClellan (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International), Helen Temple (BirdLife International)

Contributors P. Jansen, Don Merton (Department of Conservation), Ron Moorhouse (Department of Conservation)

IUCN Red List evaluators Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Strigops habroptila. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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