The Red-Crowned Parakeet, commonly known by its Maori name Kakariki,  is a long tailed bright green parrot with a red crown, forehead and band of red which extends from the bill through the eye and beyond, crimson rump patches and violet blue on wing coverts and some outer flight feathers.

Kakariki have a rapid, direct flight, usually above the canopy and often accompanied by a rapid loud chatter: "ki-ki-ki-ki-ki".  When feeding they are either silent or babble.

Kakariki are very rare in the North Island, although this wasn't always the case.  They were common in the 1880's but with the introduction of feral cats, stoats, and ship rats they became rare.  They are even rarer on the South Island, but are widespread on Stewart Island and many predator-free island reserves, including Tiritiri Matangi.  

Kakariki eat a wide variety of plant seeds (particularly flax), fruit, berries, buds, shoots and flowers, as well as nectar and small invertebrates.  They often feed on the ground rather than in the canopy, making them susceptible to mammalian predators.

Red-crowned parakeets make their nests in holes in branches and trunks, ground burrows or densely matted vegetation.  Occasionally they interbreed with the yellow-crowned parakeet, another sub-species even rarer than the red crowned parakeet.  They live in permanent pairs that frequently join with other pairs and their young.  In the autumn and winter they form small flocks.  They are non-migratory although they are capable of flying long distances, usually when searching for food or fresh water.  Birds from Tiritiri Matangi have flown to the Shakespear Regional Park on the tip of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, a distance of about 4 kilometres and have established a breeding population there.. 

The red-crowned parakeet was the first bird to be introduced to Tiritiri Matangi.  Soon after Tiri joined the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park in 1971 permits were obtained for the Wildlife Service to release kakariki on Cuvier and Tiri.  But there was a mix-up with the Cuvier release, and the survivors of the long car journey (to and from Whitianga) following the flight from Mt Bruce to Ardmore, were released on Tiri in January 1974. (10 years before planting started.). It was a small article in the NZ Herald reporting the kakariki release that prompted John Craig to first investigate Tiri as a place to do research. More kakariki were released in ‘75 and ’76.

Photography by:  Peter Craw © (left) and Simon Fordham © (right)

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