According to the news of the ati website on July 10, there is a bird in New Zealand called "Parrot" (Kakapo), which has wings but cannot fly, is almost a decoration, has a cute appearance, has a docile personality, and has been used as a pet by local Maori people in New Zealand.
The parrot got a nickname for its owl-like appearance, "owl parrots," even though genetic studies have shown that the parrot and the owl are not actually related. In addition to being shaped like owls, the two species also have a similar schedule, both of which are nocturnal, so the owl has another nickname - "night parrot".
The Owl is the world's heaviest parrot, weighing an average of 4 to 6 pounds, and feeds on plant seeds, nuts, fruits and flowers on a daily basis, especially the fruit of a plant called rimu, which is rich in the vitamin D necessary for the parrot to grow.
Although parrots can't fly, they have strong legs, which allows them to move quickly and climb trees in the forest. So are their wings completely cosmetic? Non also. When they want to get off the tree, they stretch their small wings to ensure a safe landing.
The parrot pursues a "slow life" attitude and is not hurried about its life's events. When male parrots are 4 years old and female parrots are 6 years old, they will consider "marriage and children". Of course, compared with their lifespan, this can not be said to be particularly slow. The lifespan of the parrot is generally very long, and even more than 90 years old parrots, which is simply "Queen Elizabeth II of the parrots".
The English ornithologist George Edward Grey, who first described the eccentric bird in his 1845 journal, said his pet parrot behaved more like a dog than a bird.
However, the docile and indisputable nature of the owl put them in danger. To make this clear, let's take a look at the history of the New Zealand Owl Parrot.
Large chunks of New Zealand were uninhabited until the 13th century. In the island's dense woods, the parrots live freely and freely, and the population of the owl parrots is also "leafy". However, with the arrival of humans, disease and other mammals were brought here.
Cats, dogs, dogs and mice, animals that seem harmless to humans, have become the "nightmare" of the parrot here. In addition, the parrot became the food on people's plates, their feathers became part of people's cloaks, and their bones became the material for carving fish hooks.
In the 18th century, the arrival of European colonists made everything worse. A new wave of invasive species is also coming, including two species of rats, stoats, weasels, compound rats and ferrets. While invasive species are thriving in New Zealand, the population size of the Owl is rapidly shrinking.
In the 1980s, it was finally realized that the bird would go extinct without strong protection of the parrot. To this end, The New Zealand Department of Nature Conservation has developed a Parrot Conservation Plan that includes the removal of natural predators of owls from some islands and the resettlement of existing owl parrots in these habitats.
This is a relatively intelligent parrot
A study this year showed that it took humans just a few hundred years to erase New Zealand's 50 million years of species evolution. Currently, only 211 parrots are alive and well spread across Four Islands in New Zealand that have no predators. Although researchers have made many efforts to protect the owl parrot, the breeding of owl parrots is still challenging.
Hopefully, one day, the parrot population can grow again in New Zealand's dense forests.
(Image source: ati website, network)
This article is the subject of: Ginger Emperor Penguin. Edit: LolaAl