The North Island kaka is a large forest parrot, mainly olive brown, dark crimson collar, crimson under-wings with dark edged feathers and crimson rump.  

Kaka prefer seeds, fruit, nectar and insects, sometimes tapping the sap from the bark of beech, mountain totara, and southern rata.  Their powerful beak allows them to rip bark off trees and their delicate brush tipped tongue is used to take nectar from flowers.

The kaka is a cavity breeder and makes its nest in a shallow bowl in hollow branches and trunks of old or dying trees.  Eggs are laid between September and January and incubated only by the female for about 24 days.  The chicks fledge at about 60-70 days old, remaining with the parents for a further 5 months.  The males role during this breeding period is to feed the female on the nest and to help with the caring of the chicks.

The kaka has a variety of calls, the main one, uttered in flight, is a loud bell-like call, often a single note but sometimes repeated several times.  They can screech and have other chatty parrot-like calls. 

Kaka have not been released on Tiritiri Matangi and neither have they breed there - yet.  The occasional sightings are becoming more frequent.

Photography by: Peter Craw © (left ) and Dr Kerry Rodgers © (right)

References: Heather, B.D.; Robertson, H.A. 2000 The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. Auckland, Viking.