The Kakapo is the world’s rarest parrot. It also takes the cake for the strangest, being flightless and nocturnal. Researchers caught some very… ahem… unusual footage of the fearless bird:

The kakapo is found on the island of New Zealand and lived there long before humans brought any mammalian predators to the islands. Because of this the kakapo never needed to fly away from predators on the ground, although now this adaptation is not very helpful.

When the Polynesian people brought over domesticated animals, like dogs and livestock, the kakapo’s numbers declined rapidly. There are an estimated 62 kakapo left in the wild, though all have been relocated to island habitats free of predators where they can live and breed without any threats from invasive species.

The kakapo featured in this video is named Sirocco and was the first hand-raised kakapo. When researchers were performing nest checks it was discovered the Sirocco had respiratory problems, so he was taken in for special care. Sirocco now tours around New Zealand as an advocate for his species.

Shoutout to: Surround Science for the video