Chatham kaka facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chatham kaka Temporal range: Holocene
Artist's reconstruction
Conservation status
Extinct  (between 1550 and 1700)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Nestor
Species:	chathamensis

The Chatham kaka or Chatham Island kaka (Nestor chathamensis) was a type of parrot that used to live on the Chatham Islands in New Zealand. Sadly, this bird is now extinct, meaning it no longer exists anywhere in the world.

When scientists first found bones of this bird, they thought it was just a regular New Zealand kaka (Nestor meridionalis). But after looking very closely at the fossil bones, they realized it was a completely different species unique to the Chatham Islands. The Chatham kaka disappeared between 1550 and 1700. This was about 150 years after the first Polynesians arrived on the islands, but long before any European settlers came. Because it went extinct so long ago, we don't have any drawings, photos, or detailed descriptions of what it looked like when it was alive.

What Was the Chatham Kaka?

The Chatham kaka belonged to a group of parrots called Nestor. This group includes other New Zealand parrots like the kaka and the kea. Scientists believe the Chatham kaka was more closely related to the kaka and another extinct bird called the Norfolk kaka. It was not as closely related to the kea. All these birds are part of a small family of parrots called Nestoridae, which are only found in New Zealand.

How Did the Chatham Kaka Live?

The Chatham kaka lived in the forests of the Chatham Islands. It was about the same size as the North Island kaka, which is a type of kaka found in New Zealand today. However, the Chatham kaka had some unique features. It had a wider pelvis and bigger legs, which are parts of its body that help it move. Its beak was also somewhere in between the beak of a kea and a kaka.

Because the Chatham Islands are isolated, the Chatham kaka had no natural predators, meaning there were no animals that hunted it for food. It was even bigger than the New Zealand falcon, which is a bird of prey. Birds that live on islands without predators often become poor flyers over time, and scientists believe the Chatham kaka was probably not a very good flyer either. This might have made it more vulnerable when new animals arrived on the islands.

See also

In Spanish: Kaka de las Chatham para niños