Kea by Kai Marns-Marns

Kea are a cheeky, native bird of New Zealand. They are generally found in forest or alpine regions. Kea are Omnivorous and have a unique call.

Kea are around 46cm long and, unlike many other New Zealand birds, the Kea can fly. The Kea is very similar to the Kaka, but, one distinguishing feature of the Kea is the splotch of orange that they have beneath their wings. They were named after their call which sounds like “Keeeeaaaaaa.”

The Kea are only found in New Zealand’s South Island. They have been seen in coastal dunes to high alpine peaks but are most often found in mountainous forests. Because of the decrease in forests, Kea have been forced to move closer to humans and have been caught stealing steal human’s food and things.

Kea nest bellow the tree line and lay 4 eggs every year at most. They usually lay their eggs in August to October. The female sits on the eggs for about 22 days while the male finds food and brings it back. After the eggs have hatched the chicks stay in the nest for about 3 months before leaving.

Kea are omnivorous and eat a wide range of foods. These foods include: scrubs, shoots, leaves, nectar, seeds, insect larvae and grubs.

In 2013 Kea were put on the endangered list. By this time their numbers were at less than 6,000. As well as introduced species like the cat, ferret and possum, farmers were also killing the Kea. The farmers were killing the Kea because the Kea would sometimes jump on to the back of a sheep and eat some of the sheep’s fat which could cause septicemia. The Kea numbers declined by 150,000 before they became protected.

This endangered New Zealand flying bird is slowly increasing in numbers. I hope that they are still here in the future.

References;

Above left; A Kea and a Kea chick; http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kea. 2/5/17

Above middle; Map showing where Kea populations live in New Zealand. Image from; rg/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Nestor_notabilis_-range_map_-New_Zealand.png/260px-Nestor_notabilis_-range_map_-New_Zealand.png

Above right; The Kea. Image from;  https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kea_(Vogelart)#/media/File:Kea_filtered.jpg 2/5/17

·http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kea 5/2/17

· http://www.doc.govt.nz/kea 5/2/17

· https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kea 5/2/17

· Cover Image; Sabine Bennet, ‘Kea, Milford Sound’ www.doc.govt.nz/kea