Nestor (genus)

Nestor
New Zealand kaka
(Nestor meridionalis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Strigopidae
Genus: Nestor
Lesson, 1830
Type species
Psittacus nestor[1]
Latham, 1790
Species

N. notabilis Kea
N. meridionalis Kaka
†N. productus Norfolk kaka
†N. chathamensis Chatham kaka

The genus Nestor is one of the two extant genera of the parrot family Strigopidae.[2] Together with the kākāpō, and the extinct parrots in the genus Nelepsittacus, they form the parrot superfamily Strigopoidea. The Nestor's genus contains two extant parrot species from New Zealand and two extinct species from Norfolk Island, Australia and Chatham Island, New Zealand, respectively. All species are large stocky birds with short squarish tails. A defining characteristic of the genus is the tongue, which is tipped with a hair-like fringe.[3] The superficial resemblance of this tongue to that of lorikeets has led some taxonomists to consider the two groups closely related, but DNA evidence shows they are not.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Psittacidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
  2. ^ Joseph, Leo; et al. (2012). "A revised nomenclature and classification for family-group taxa of parrots (Psittaciformes)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3205: 26–40. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3205.1.2.
  3. ^ Forshaw, Joseph M.; Cooper, William T. (1981) [1973, 1978]. Parrots of the World (corrected second ed.). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, London. ISBN 0-7153-7698-5.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wright was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Tokita, M; Kiyoshi, T; Armstrong, KN (2007). "Evolution of craniofacial novelty in parrots through developmental modularity and heterochrony". Evolution & Development. 9 (6): 590–601. doi:10.1111/j.1525-142X.2007.00199.x. PMID 17976055. S2CID 46659963.