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Facts
- Orange-fronted parakeet/ kākāriki sound recording

Facts about orange-fronted parakeet

What do they look like?

They are bright green with blue feathers along the outer edge of the wing. They are very similar to yellow-crowned parakeets (Cyanoramphus auriceps) with the only clearly distinguishing feature a narrow orange band above the beak and below the yellow forehead (this band is dark red or crimson in yellow-crowns). Also, the forehead on an orangefront is lemon-yellow rather than the golden-yellow of yellow-crowns.

Comparison of yellow-crowned and orange-fronted parakeet. Photo: P.Jansen.
Colour comparison of orange-fronted
and yellow-crowned parakeets

Where are they found?

Reports from the 1800s show that orange-fronted parakeets were once found throughout the South Island,Stewart Island and on a few other offshore islands. However, their distribution has reduced dramatically over the last century and the orange-fronted parakeet is now the rarest parakeet in New Zealand. Classified as 'nationally critical', the species has a high risk of extinction with only 100 - 200 birds in the wild. The four known remaining populations are all within a 30 km radius in beech forests of upland valleys within Arthur's Pass National Park and Lake Sumner Forest Park in Canterbury, South Island.

Although orange-fronts are now completely restricted to these four valleys, historic records suggest that in the later years of the 1800s, when beech seed was bountiful during mast years, the parakeets would have a breeding boom and disperse onto the Canterbury Plains.

More orange-fronted parakeet facts

For many years these parakeets were thought to be the same species as yellow-crowned parakeets, but genetic research revealed they are a distinct species, not just a colour variation.
Breeding begins in summer (December/January) and can continue into winter if there is plenty of beech seed.
The female bird lays between five to eight eggs in nests located high in the hollow cavities of beech trees. The eggs take 21-26 days to incubate.
The chicks are fed at first by the female, and later by the male as well. The chicks fledge from the nest when they are 40-50 days old.
Juveniles have pale head colours at first but these brighten over 4-6 weeks.
Orange-fronted parakeets feed on a range of plant material including seeds, buds, shoots, flowers, leaves, sprouts, ferns and grasses. They also eat caterpillars and aphids.