20 trivia about the Owl Parrot

1. The parrot is the only parrot in the world that cannot fly.

Although its wings are not like those of other birds, they can move with the help of strong legs.

Surprisingly, these flightless parrots are excellent hikers. They only resort to those short wings when they need to keep their bodies balanced or jump from trees.

2) If you're lucky, you'll be able to see them in New Zealand.

According to New Zealand's Ministry of Conservation, as of August 2018, there were only 147 Owl parrots left in the world. Therefore, it is very difficult to see the aroma in the wild. They are also included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature 's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

3, their lifespan is more than 90 years.

Their longevity is staggering. What's the trick? They certainly didn't take any elixir. But some scholars describe their lifestyles as if they were living in a time capsule.

Owl parrots are always not in a hurry, they mature very slowly, they reproduce very slowly, so they die very slowly.

4) If you like the taste of honey, then you may also like the taste of owl parrots.

The sweet body odor of the parrot is reminiscent of the taste of honey. However, their body odor may betray themselves to hungry predators.

5. The owl parrot was selected as one of the ugliest animals in the world.

In a competition organized to raise awareness of endangered species, the owl parrot came in second place, behind the ugly deep-sea dripfish. But people's tastes are different.

Personally, I find parrots attractive because of their bright coat color and keen eyes.

6, although it is a parrot, but it is very similar to an owl.

In fact, in addition to their faces resemblance to owls, their habits are also similar. Owl parrots and owls are night owls that come out of the day and night.

7. The owl parrot's sense of smell is 1 and a half times stronger than that of humans.

According to a Cornell University publication, the parrot is one of the most "noseed" sensitive animals on Earth. Humans have 400 acting olfactory receptors, while parrots have 667.

8, the weight of the parrot is the heaviest of the parrots.

Some may suspect that their weight makes them unable to fly. But this is controversial. One might also ask a question similar to "chicken or egg first" question.

Do parrots become fat because they are too fat to fly, or do they get fat because they can't fly?

9. They will breed during the period of fruit abundance on the rumi tree.

Two to four times a year. Dr. Pamela Von Hurst of Massey University has found that the fruits of the rumi tree, especially the vitamins D and calcium in the fruit, can stimulate parrot reproduction.

Scientists now believe the discovery could turn things around the breeding of owl parrots and the increase in their populations.

10. The parrot lives alone on a remote island without any predators.

This means that they do not have the fear of being eaten in their lives. Some scholars have theorized that parrots don't learn to fly because they haven't experienced any fear and don't have the incentive to defend themselves like other birds.

11 Historically, parrots have been important to New Zealand's Maori.

For them, parrots are a very easy source of protein to get started with. They were also hunted by European settlers.

So when people began to take cats and dogs to the uninhabited islands, the parrots were almost wiped out.

Thanks to recent conservation practices, they have not gone extinct.

12 If they feel threatened, they will be completely fixed.

This is the defense mechanism of the owl parrot. When they are caught off guard, they will remain there motionless.

This method works well because their feathers have a protective color and can be integrated into natural vegetation, making them less likely to be discovered.

13. All extant parrots have the name of Pulling Wind.

You can memorize all their names, because there are not many left. In addition to their names, people record their family and life history.

For example, Maggie is the second female parrot to be found on Steward Island. It was first discovered in March 1980. Unfortunately, in 2014 it lost its life due to a landslide.

14) They are currently placed on islands without predators.

Owl parrots now live on Cod Island and Anchor Island. They are routinely monitored to ensure their happiness.

15 The name kakapo means "night parrot" in Maori.

"kaka" means parrot, while "po" means night. The reason is obvious, they are more active at night and sleep heavily during the day.

16. The owl is a herbivorous animal.

In other words, they only eat plant-related ones. Berries, fruits, seeds and nuts are eaten. However, their favorite food is the fruit of the rumi tree.

If this fruit is enough to eat, they will not eat anything else.

17 Although they cannot fly up the trees, they can climb up.

After all, parrots are also birds, so they like to stay in the trees like other birds. So they will climb the tree with strong legs and fall from the tree with their short wings.

18 Unlike most birds, the parrot's nest is on the ground or in an empty tree hole.

Sometimes, their nests are in natural hollows underground. A parrot lays 1 to 4 eggs during a breeding season. Males are not involved during incubation.

Eggs hatch in 29 to 30 days. The mother parrot will watch over the baby parrot for about 6 months until they are able to survive completely independently.

19. The Owl Restoration Program provides every parrot with GPS tracking equipment, enabling them to monitor the movements of the parrot remotely.

In addition, at the end of each year, all surviving parrots are subjected to health checks.

20. The population of owl parrots is growing steadily.

Of course this is good news. By 1995, they were close to extinction. Fortunately, the implementation of the Owl's Recovery Program has helped their populations steadily rise.

2016 was the year of the Owl Breeding Outbreak, with populations surging by 28 percent.

This article is translated from thefactsite and published by translator Diehard under the Creative Commons License (by-nc).