Kaka are intelligent and adaptable. Their powerful wings allow them to fly low and fast through bush, and they use their strong bills to get seeds from the tough cone of the kauri tree. With their strong feet they jump through the trees and tumble through the air, hanging from branches to reach fruit and flowers.

Because their diet includes all kinds of berries and seeds, they use their delicate, brush-tipped tongue to eat nectar from flax flowers and trees, such as rata, pohutakawa, kowhai, and rata. Consequently, kaka play an important role in the forest by pollinating flowers.

Of myth and legend

As you would expect from their cheeky personalities, personality, these cheerful chaps feature in many stories of the bush.

In one legend, the noisy kaka unwittingly plays a key role in the demise of the god Maui.

The story goes that he was attempting to steal immortality from Hine-nui-te-po, the goddess of death, when the piwaiwaka (fantail) caught sight of his antics and started to laugh. The piwaiwaka’s laughter, in turn, made the loud kaka roar with laughter, waking Hine-nui-te-po who killed Maui. Oops.