Vocal ethology of the North Island kaka (Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis)

Abstract

We conducted acoustic and behavioural observations on wild New Zealand North Island kaka (Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis) to assess the behavioural context of their most common calls. We distinguished several call types by ear in the field and then quantitatively evaluated our call type classifications using spectrographic analyses. Next, we established the behavioural context of each call type during 500 h of field observations. We observed five distinctive call types that were clearly segregated in subsequent spectrographic analyses. Behavioural observations showed that each call type was generally associated with particular behaviours used by birds separated by different distances. Some call types were used by distantly‐separated solitary birds that were foraging or preening, while others were used mostly during copulation. Overall results indicate that kaka have a range of distinctive call‐types for communication under different spatial and social circumstances.