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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A ground-dwelling New Zealand parrot (Strigops habroptilus) with greenish plumage.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. The owl-parrot or ground-parrot of New Zealand, Stringops habroptilus, a large and noteworthy parrot, by some made the type of family Stringopidæ, distinct from the Psittacidæ. It is nocturnal, unable to fly, and in danger of rapid extermination. It is of a mottled-greenish color, and about as large as a raven.

Wiktionary

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

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. (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.

Etymologies

  1. Maori kākāpō (Wiktionary)
  2. Maori kākāpō : kākā, parrot; see kaka + pō, night (perhaps because it is active at night). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

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

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

    A First Year in Canterbury Settlement

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

    Simon & Schuster: The Song of The Dodo

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

    Last Chance to See

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

    Last Chance to See

  • “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

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

    Radio New Zealand News Headlines

  • “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

  • “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

  • “Also I'll be working with photographer Nic Bishop on another children's book on the highly endangered flightless giant parrot, the kakapo, which lives on a remote and windswept island off New Zealand.”

    A Conversation with Sy Montgomery, author of The Good Good Pig

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reverse dictionary (6)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. owl parrot
  1. night kaka
  1. night-parrot
  1. night parrot
  1. strigops
  1. ground-parrot

tags (1)

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  1. bird

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Lists

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  • reesetee 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 Feb 17, 2009

  • reesetee Also k�?k�?p�?. Feb 26, 2008

  • ulleskelf 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! Oct 12, 2007

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‘kakapo’ has been looked up 1353 times, loved by 1 person, added to 11 lists, commented on 3 times, and has a Scrabble score of 11.