Comments on: Kakariki: International Bird of Mystery

By: Colin Ashby

Colin Ashby — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 20:38:27 +0000

My wife and I have a permit to keep 2 red crested Kakariki from the NZ Department of Conservation. We live at Warkworth north of Auckland. This morning 26 December 2009, I went outside about 7.30am and disturbed a wild Kakariki, visiting our birds in the avery. It flew off the driveway and into the trees in a bright flash of green in the morning sunlight. It turned out that there were two of them and they came and sat on a bush adjacent to the avery to have a visit. Our burds were exstatic and flew about un the avery, clinging to the side of the wires as close as they could get and jabering away. They are really quite social birds. It was the first time I have seen them in the wild around Warkworth.

I understand that in the 1860’s they were as common as sparrows, but their love for grain brought them into conflict with farmers, and the lack of fear that they had of preditors made them a target for cats etc.

They are however still about as my encounter this morning proved. The wild pair that I saw would have probably been about 20% larger in size than our own birds and looked very healthy, but were weary of me. One flew away immediately I walked quitely out the door. the other kept an eye on me and stayed for about 10 minutes on the bush adjacent to the cage watching me and looking at our birds. when I got within about 4m to take anothe photo, it flew off jabbering all the way up into a tree in the bush reserve behind our house. One of ours in particular called after it.

About 2 years ago when we first aquired the Kakariki, some frends of ours who live on a lifestyle block in Parimarima Road on the North Shore recognised the birds and said that they had a flock of 4 of the same come to visit their flower garden but they gave an alark and high tailed it to the trees when they saw a hawk. They had thought that they must have been some sort of Austalian cockatial or something not appreciating at the time that NZ had a native parrot.

Three months ago while working on a house 30 km north of Whangarei, a flight of about 10 Kakariki landed in a tree about 70m from the house jabbering. This happened on 2 weekends when I was up there.

I believe that miss identification of Kakariki may be commmon. Also as they are green, they are not that obvious in follage. I have read a report from a authorative source that Karakriki had disappeared on the mainland in the Auckland area. However I am happy to report that this is not the case.

I have done some research and believe that in addition to Moreporks (NZ Owls), Hawks, cats, stotes and wessels the karariki also has to compete with starlings and minor birds who like holes in trees for nesting. While a 55mm dia hole will protect a starling nest from attack by minor birds, a Kakariki needs about a 65mm dia hole. Starlings and Minor Birds which were imported in about the 1860’s can be quite vicious with respect to nesting spaces and studies have shown that starlings will fight to the death over a nesting box. Possums also are not solely herbivorous as most people think, and there is documentary evidence from the DSIR of them killing sparrows overnight when sparrows have become trapped in their enclosure after entering to steal food pallets. Any roosting bird in the wild could therefore fall prey to a nocturnal opposum.

Never the less, dispite all the odds, it could be that through the process of natural selection, those Karariki that are the more weary of the species are surviving and breading and will be around for generations to come.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:26:32 +0000

I love Kakarikis, I’ve owned one, a female named Takitimu. Finest Bird in the World. With apologies to the other Parrot I own. This American thinks Kakarikis should be Bird Of Year.
By the way, the Antipodes Islands are NOT the southernmost point of the Species. The Auckland Island, including Enderby and Adams, are farther south by a degree or two. The Kakarikis there are of the nominate species (Red Crowned and Yellow Crowned.) Then There is The extinct form on Macquarie Island, Similar to the ones on Antipodes. I would also add that dispite having Tropical origins this species is one Down Fluffball, quite protected from the cool to cold climes of New Zealand to the Subantarctic. Go Kakarikis

By: Steptoe

Steptoe — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:21:51 +0000

Kakariki where kept by Maori and early settlers as pets, one would wander down the main streets and see them on the front porches.
They are kept as pets From Iceland, to Britain, Belgium, Netherlands Sweden, Israel, Spain, Latvia, Peru, Canad, States, and all countries in between….
And In NZ it is illegal to do so…instead our children have budgies…
Now the real sick part…Kakariki breeders have 2 choices
1/ release kakariki illegally
2/Take pure breed dease free Kakariki down the back yard , and with a sharp pair off scissors, chop their heads off..

And Kakariki are not the only species this applies to.

By: matt

matt — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:17:07 +0000

long live the mighty Kakariki

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:47:27 +0000

I have a Kakariki as a pet and he is beautiful, would not be without him as he is such a character. So I vote for the Kakariki.

By: Kaipara for Kakariki

Kaipara for Kakariki — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:39:43 +0000

Better a colourful Eastern Rosella in the burbs than no birds at all ! Thanks to the National Government there will be fewer trees for them to roost in, in the Auckland region ! Kakariki are sensational little parrots and with their adaptability and diversity, and they should rate highly for bird of the year ! Kakariki fan club member !

By: Em

Em — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:54:28 +0000

I’d love to see flocks of kakariki swooping and cackling through my suburb - instead of the Australian rosellas that I see at times.

By: Anne

Anne — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:25:23 +0000

Beauty must be such a heavy cross to bear!! To give kakariki credit, “beautiful plummage gov” to quote Monty Python’s Parrot sketch.

To repeat a question put to kea, however, and more to the point here, what’s kakariki’s view on world peace?

Yours, jealous as….

PS Maybe they drifted across to Antipodes all those years ago on a raft of some sort, after all, I don’t imagine they’d have too much trouble hitching a lift with that booty to shake!