Kakapo Booming

In the breeding season, the male kakapo clears a piece of ground to be a stage for his show. Then he blows himself up like a balloon and makes a deep booming call. The male kakapo has a thoracic sac in his chest which he can inflate to make the booming noise.The sound carries for a great distance (up to five kilometres).

When a female hears it, she comes and watches him boom, and may choose him for a mate.

Kakapo male 'booming'

The male kakapo are competing to get the female kakapo to look at them, this type of mating is called a 'lek mating system'.

After mating, the female kakapo lays two or three eggs in a nest hollow, under a log or a tussock. She looks after the eggs and chicks all by herself, feeding the chicks for 10 weeks.

Kakapo may not breed every year. They wait for a year when the rimu and kahikatea are laden with fruit. Then the birds grow fat and are able to find enough food to feed their chicks.