Kakapo chicks hatch, boost numbers

Kakapo chick - Source: Department of ConservationThe first kakapo chicks of the season have hatched with three new arrivals bringing the total population of the critically endangered parrot to 123.

The trio are now being looked after by their mums - or foster mum - in nests.

Department of Conservation Kakapo ranger Jo Ledington said all the chicks were doing well, and another was expected within the next two or three days.

Click to read more ...

Review: Adults, too, will like children's book on rare bird

Kakapo Rescue - Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Last April I had the pleasure of hearing Sy Montgomery talk about her book, "Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot" at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. The occasion was a meeting of the Washington Children's Book Guild at which Montgomery was presented with the Guild's nonfiction award for her body of work.

Click to read more ...

Kakapo males 'boom' on as legendary bird dies

A legendary kakapo which played a vital role in the recovery of the species has been found dead.

Click to read more ...

Parakeets under threat from virus

DEVASTATING EFFECTS: A healthy red-fronted parakeet provides sharp contrast to a bird severely affected by the beak and feather virus.Scientists are worried a virulent disease affecting parakeets is more widespread than thought. Recent work among native red-fronted parakeets on Little Barrier Island has confirmed their worst fears.

“We estimate in a sample of 54 parakeets about 25 per cent have the virus, we don't know what is the real percentage in the whole population," says scientist Luis Ortiz-Catedral

Beak and feather disease causes birds to lose their feathers, develop beak deformities, and weakens their immune systems.

Click to read more ...

Sirocco The Kakapo Named A Conservation Ambassador

Sirocco The Kakapo Named A Conservation Ambassador New Zealand's world famous parrot - Sirocco the kākāpō - has been officially recognized as a conservation ambassador by the Prime Minister John Key.

Click to read more ...