Quote

The kakapo.

High hopes for kakapo breeding season with discovery of eggs
Sun, 16 Mar 2008 05:43p.m.


Hopes are high for the kakapo breeding season on Codfish Island with the discovery that the birds are breeding earlier in life.

Adolescent kakapo have laid half of this season’s eggs - something that is taken DOC workers by surprise.

And in a world first some of their mating action has been captured on film.

The kakapo are one of the country's most endangered birds and their perilous situation is made worse by the fact that they are notoriously slow breeders.

So the recent discovery of eight kakapo eggs on Codfish Island has excited those working to boost their chances of survival.

Emma Neill, Kakapo Recovery Team leader: “There's only 86 kakapo currently in existence in the world, so 8 eggs is a precious addition to that we definitely know that 5 of them are fertile, and hopefully the other 3 are as well.”

The kakapo's revival has been plagued by infertility - hopes have been raised with the discovery that half the new eggs were laid by adolescent kakapo, previously considered too young to breed.

Emma Neill: “Four of those were laid by two females who are 6 years old, and we'd previously thought the youngest age for breeding was 9 years old.”

This is important to me beacause I love animals and even more one that are native to New Zealand.


Questions.
How mucd do you know about the kakapo?
What other endangered birds do you know about?
Where do they live?

Old Blue

Old Blue
If Old Blue had not laid any eggs the black robin would be extinct.
THANK YOU Old Blue - what an amazing bird!
When the cross-fostering programme began in 1980, there were only two females out of the five robins left. Only one female laid fertile eggs and she was called Old Blue. She and her partner, Old Yellow, are the ancestors of every robin alive today.
Old Blue got her name from the blue identification band that Wildlife Services staff had put on her leg.
Old Blue did not start breeding successfully until she was about nine years old – that’s old for a black robin.
In 1983 she could no longer breed successfully. She was moved to South East Island so that her partner, Old Yellow, would pair with another bird. He did but unfortunately it was with his own offspring and not the less closely related female that DoC had hoped he would breed with.
Old Blue lived for over 13 years and produced more eggs than any other robin.

Reference:http://www.kcc.org.nz/birds/blackrobin/oldblue.asp

The amazing Black robin!

The Black Robin
Chatham Islands Old Blue Resources
An amazing story of survival.
In 1980 there were only 5 black robins in the whole world.
Now the number is around 250!
Keep reading to learn all about this wonderful little bird and how it nearly became extinct.....

The black robin is also known as the Chatham Islands black robin.
The black robin's scientific name is Petroica traversi.
It is only found on the Chatham Islands, which means it is endemic to the Chatham Islands.
The black robin is a species of New Zealand robin.
The New Zealand robin got its name because it is similar to the European robin, but it is not related.

Tha Kakapo. New Zealands most endangered bird!!!

The Remarkable Kakapo The ancient, flightless Kakapo is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable birds in the world. To call it unique is an understatement. It is a parrot that looks like an owl, hops like a sparrow, growls like a dog and has a very unique smell.
The Kakapo (night parrot) is one of New Zealand's unique ‘treasures' and with only 86 known surviving birds it is listed internationally as a critically endangered species.
The only flightless and nocturnal parrot in the world, the Kakapo is also the heaviest, weighing up to 4 kilograms (9 lbs). They have been known to live to the ripe old age of 60 years, and the male Kakapo is the only parrot to have inflatable thoracic sacs. These truly amazing birds are found only in New Zealand .
The Kakapo is the only representative of a unique sub-family, Strigops habroptilus, which means ‘owl-faced soft feathers' and has many features of an owl such as a soft plumage and almost fur-like discs around the eyes. With mossy-green and yellow feathers, camouflage is the bird's main form of defence.


Reference: http://www.seriousfunnewzealand.com/aboutnz/kakapo.cfm