Kakarikis are an extremely active parakeet. They originate in New Zealand where there are two types – the Red Fronted or Red Crowned and the Yellow Fronted or Yellow Crowned. There are, of course, colour mutations.




Thanks to Henk at The Kakarikie for the use of this picture of a normal coloured Red Fronted Kakariki with pied and yellow mutations.

Kakarikis need a much larger cage than many other parakeets due to their constant motion. Even with an extra large cage, they should have plenty of out of cage time for flying. You will very seldom see one who is content sitting on your finger or shoulder, as they just do not have time to stay still.

These birds love to forage on the ground so it would be great if they can have a cage with a bottom that allows this with fresh dirt added frequently. They can often be seen scratching & digging to look for something to eat. Unlike many parrot species, Kakarikis are not normally chewers so wood is usually quite safe from their beaks.

For some reason, Kakarikis do not seem to live as long as other similar sized parakeets. It may be because of their extreme activity but it is not uncommon for these birds to die suddenly at a young age. Although they can live up to 20 years, it is very unusual to have one live this long. The average age for these birds is approximately 5 years.

These are very quiet and gentle birds and a single bird can normally be kept in a flight with other similar sized friendly birds. If you have a pair and are interested in breeding, they must be kept in their own large cage because they get aggressive in pairs.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop by the Bird Forum (see below for most recent posts) anytime.