Kea

Kea (Nestor notabilis)

Kea. Photo by Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Call

Kea call (Source: Department of Conservation CC BY 4.0)

Where is home?

High-altitude forests, mountains, and sub-alpine scrubland and fields in the Southern Alps
Become a kea surveyor! If you are a regular backcountry user, then start recording the presence and absence of kea on your trips. (DOC)

How are they doing?

Threatened – Nationally Endangered

Vulnerable to predation from introduced mammals, interaction with humans and human equipment, environmental lead poisoning

What are they known for?

• Kea are the world’s only alpine parrot and are incredibly curious, making them a fixture at mountain huts and ski lodges where they are known to play with – and sometimes destroy – what they find there!

• Kea are considered to be highly intelligent, even among parrots, and very playful. They are exceptional problem-solvers, solving complex puzzles put to them by animal researchers.

Kea connections

• Ko te reoreo a kea ki uta, ko te whakataki mai a toroa ki tai, he kotuku ki te raki, he kakapo ki te whenua
  The voice of the kea is heard inland, the cry of the albatross is heard at sea, a kotuku in the sky, a kakapo on the ground.

  This whakataukī is about everything having its rightful place, acknowledging the kea’s rightful place in the rugged mountain wilderness

• He kea ki pae maunga, he keorangi ki pae atamai
  The mountain parrot sits atop the mountain and at the pinnacle of intelligence.

  This whakataukī celebrates the famous wit, boldness, and intellect of the kea/ keorangi, reaching the highest levels of wisdom and understanding: