Common Names
All common names for species in this family are the same as the traditional Māori names. The word Kākā derives from the ancient Proto-Polynesian word meaning parrot. Kākāpō is a logical extension of that name as pō means night, resulting in Kākā of the night or Night parrot, reflecting the species' nocturnal behaviour. The etymology of Kea in Māori is less clear, and might be onomatopoeic of its call kee-aah.
In the anglicized versions of the names, the long versions of the vowels with diacritic marks, ā and ō, are replaced by a or o. In the Māori language, this changes the meaning of Kākā from parrot to dress or clothing.
Read more about this topic: New Zealand Parrot
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