Kākāriki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kākāriki |
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| Red-crowned parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae) |
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Cyanoramphus
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The kākāriki are small, colorful parakeets found in New Zealand. Their name, kākāriki, comes from the Māori language. It means "small parrot" because kākā means parrot and riki means small.
These birds are mostly green. This is why the word kākāriki is also used for the color green! There's even a legend that says the red patches on their bodies are the blood of a demigod named Tāwhaki.
There are three main types of kākāriki in New Zealand. They are the yellow-crowned parakeet (Cyanoramphus auriceps), the red-crowned parakeet (C. novaezelandiae), and the Malherbe's parakeet (C. malherbi). The Malherbe's parakeet is very rare and is considered critically endangered.
Kākāriki Homes
Kākāriki birds are native to New Zealand. This means they naturally live there. Sadly, their numbers have gone down a lot. This happened because humans settled in New Zealand. Their homes, called habitats, were destroyed. Also, new animals like stoats and rats were brought in. These animals hunt kākāriki nests and eat their eggs or chicks.
Because of these problems, kākāriki are now endangered. You won't see many of them on the main islands. But they are doing much better on smaller, faraway islands. These islands are safer for them.
If someone wants to keep kākāriki as pets, they need special permission. This is because kākāriki are protected native birds. You must get a license from the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
Different Kākāriki Species
Scientists have studied the DNA of kākāriki. They found that the orange-fronted parakeet is its own species. It's not just a different color of the yellow-crowned parakeet. This is important because the orange-fronted parakeet is very rare. There are fewer than 200 of them left! They live in the North Canterbury area of the South Island.
Scientists also found that kākāriki living on other islands are unique. For example, the yellow-crowned parakeets on Chatham Island are a distinct species. The red-crowned parakeets in places like New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, and the subantarctic islands are also different species. This shows how diverse these small parrots are!
Breeding Kākāriki
The red-crowned parakeet is quite common for people to keep. They are also relatively easy to breed. Female kākāriki usually lay five to eight white eggs. They lay these eggs in a special nesting box.
There are also different color types of red-crowned parakeets. Some are cinnamon colored. Others have a pied pattern, which means they have patches of different colors. There are even yellow kākāriki!
Images for kids
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Kākāriki eating from a feeding perch
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A Kākāriki on a branch
