For a bird that was made internet-famous by "shagging" a BBC reporter, there’s something poetic about the news that 2016 has been a record breeding year. Poetic and, for the critically endangered Kakapo, incredible. The flightless bird, which is known as the “owl parrot” and is the heaviest parrot in the word, had a population of just 123 individuals as of 2014. Now, thanks to a major boost in chick numbers—33 babies have survived their first few months of life, compared to just six in 2014—that population number looks set to rise. “The future of New Zealand’s own giant flightless parrot is looking much brighter,” Conservation Minister Maggie Barry said in April, after the last chick hatched. In total, 46 chicks hatched this year, but as is the case with most birds, not all babies typically survive their first few weeks or months—three of the chicks perished after a flash flood swept through one of the islands, for instance. The chicks are part of the Kakapo...