Geographic Range
Kea are found only in the mountains of South Island, New Zealand.
- Biogeographic Regions
- australian
- Other Geographic Terms
- island endemic
Habitat
Kea live in wooded valleys and southern beech (
Nothofagus
) forests that line sub-alpine scrublands at 600 to 2000 m. In summer, kea inhabit
high elevation scrub and alpine tundra areas. In autumn, they move to higher elevations
to forage for berries. In winter, kea move below the timberline.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- terrestrial
Physical Description
Kea are crow-sized parrots, about 48 cm long as adults. They have brownish-green heads
and underparts with blackish edges. Their bodies have dull bronze-green plumage. The
outer webs of their primaries are dull blue, and the underwing coverts are orange
red with yellow barring and notching that extends to the undersides of the flight
feathers. The lower back is dull red in color, reaching to the uppertail coverts.
The upper surface of the tail is bronze-green, and the under surface of the tail is
dull yellow. Kea have decurved upper bills (culmens). Females have shorter, less
curved culmens and weigh about 20 percent less than males. Juvenile kea have yellowish
crowns and ceres.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male larger
Reproduction
Kea have a polygynous mating system. Males fight for dominance, and the hierarchy
is strict: as few as 10% of males may be allowed to breed in certain years. Copulation
is often initiated the female, who approaches the male and invites play or adopts
a submissive posture and solicits preening. The male then feeds the female a regurgitated
meal and mounts her.
- Mating System
- polygynous
Kea have been observed breeding at all times of the year, except late autumn. Their
main reproductive period lasts from July to January. They nest in burrows under rocks
or among tree roots. Kea have clutches of two to four eggs, and incubate the eggs
for three to four weeks. The altricial hatchlings fledge after 13 weeks, and then
disperse from their natal ranges after another five to six weeks. Males are sexually
mature after four or five years, while females become sexually mature as early as
three years of age.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- year-round breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- oviparous
One a female kea lays her eggs, she sits on the nest and incubates them for three
weeks. During this time, she rarely leaves the nest and the male feeds her. After
the eggs hatch, the male continues to feed the female, and she, in turn, feeds the
chicks. After a month, the male begins feeding the chicks himself. The chicks fledge
at 9 to 13 weeks of age, and the male assumes sole responsibility for feeding them.
He continues feeding his fledglings for up to six weeks. Afterward, the juveniles
disperse from their natal area and travel together in flocks for two to three years
before settling down.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
-
pre-fertilization
-
protecting
- female
-
protecting
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- male
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
- extended period of juvenile learning
Lifespan/Longevity
Kea can live 14.4 years in captivity. Life span in the wild has not been reported.
Behavior
Kea are highly intelligent, social birds. They live in family groups, and aggregations
of 30 to 40 birds often forage at prime feeding grounds, such as garbage dumps. Kea
exhibit a variety of social behaviors, including intricate play. They have dominance
hierarchies, but these hierarchies are not necessarily linear. For example, an adult
male may be dominant to a subadult male, who is dominant to a juvenile male, who,
in turn, is dominant to the adult male. Experiments on cooperation in kea suggest
that dominant individuals can force subordinants to cooperate in tasks that benefit
only the dominant birds. Also, it has been shown that kea in captivity can learn complicated
tasks from observing others, though this ability has not been shown for kea in the
wild.
It has been proposed that life in an extreme alpine environment has encouraged kea
to opportunistically explore their surroundings. They commonly investigate human
belongings, and are known to destroy car accessories and ski lodge equipment.
Kea are diurnal, rising in the early morning to begin calling and then foraging until
late morning. They generally roost during the middle of the day, and begin foraging
again in the evening, sometimes until after dark, when they go to roost for the night
on tree branches. The timing of these daily activities varies with the weather; kea
are fairly heat-intolerant and spend more time roosting on hot days.
Home Range
Home range size in kea are not reported.
Communication and Perception
Kea perceive visual, tactile, auditory, and chemical stimuli. They communicate with
a wide repetoire of vocalizations, including the "kee-ah" flight call for which they
are named. They also communicate by fluffing their head feathers into various "facial
expressions" and by posturing.
Food Habits
Kea are opportunistic, omnivorous parrots. The leaves, buds, and nuts of southern
beeches (
Nothofagus
) are especially important in the kea diet. The foods consumed vary by season, however.
In spring they eat mountain daisies (
Celmisia
) and dig in the soil for small plants and
insects
. In summer kea consume the nectar and pollen of flowering mountain flax (
Phorium colensoi
) and rata (
Metrosideros
). They eat berries of coprosma (
Coprosma
) and snow totara (
Podocarpus nivalis
), and eat the leaves, fruit, seeds, and flowers of other plants. In summer they also
eat
beetle
grubs,
grasshoppers
, and
land snails
. In fall kea feed on mountain beech leaves and buds and continue foraging on the
roots, bulbs, fruit, seeds, and stems of other plants. Kea scavenge on trash heaps
year round and relish the flesh and bone marrow from carcasses. These food sources
become particularly important in winter, when plant foods are scarce. Finally, kea
have been reported to eat
rabbits
and
mice
, and they have gained a reputation for attacking
sheep
, although they usually only prey on wounded or diseased sheep.
- Primary Diet
- omnivore
- Animal Foods
- mammals
- carrion
- insects
- mollusks
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- roots and tubers
- seeds, grains, and nuts
- fruit
- nectar
- pollen
- flowers
Predation
New Zealand falcons (
Falco novaeseelandiae
) have been observed attacking kea, but no one has reported an incidence of successful
predation. Kea remain alert for air attacks when foraging, and they band together
to chase falcons that threaten a member of their group.
Ecosystem Roles
Kea, being opportunistic, generalist foragers, are primary, secondary, and higher-level
consumers. In the past, kea probably had an array of competitors, such as kaka (
Nestor meridionalis
), moa (
Anomalopteryx
,
Dinornis
,
Emeus
,
Euryapteryx
,
Megalapteryx
, and
Pachyornis
spp.), kakapo (
Strigops habroptilus
), takahe (
Porphyrio mantelli
), and New Zealand ravens (
Corvus moriorum
). But human settlement fueled a mass extinction of New Zealand's native birds. Moa,
takahe, and New Zealand ravens are now extinct, and kakapo are extremely rare. Only
kaka remain to compete with kea and, where their ranges overlap, these two closely
related species use many of the same food resources.
- kaka ( Nestor meridionalis )
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Kea are important for New Zealand's tourism industry. These birds have been called
"the clown of New Zealand's Southern Alps" by the Department of Conservation, attracting
crowds when they convene on automobiles.
- Positive Impacts
- ecotourism
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Kea have been known to attack sheep, and the wounds can become infected with
Clostridium
bacteria. The bacteria can cause blood poisoning, which can be fatal to sheep. Increasingly,
the parrots have come into contact with human habitations, sometimes foraging at dumps
and cabins. Kea have been known to destroy car accessories, such as windshield wipers
and weather stripping. These birds also have shredded hiking boots and have stolen
objects such as sunglasses. The damage can cause serious problems, such as when the
birds rip out car wiring and destroy ski-lift warning systems.
- Negative Impacts
- causes or carries domestic animal disease
Conservation Status
Kea are currently classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, and they are a BirdLife "restricted-range"
species. They are subject to international trade regulations under CITES appendix
II, as are most parrots. Kea are also protected within New Zealand by the Wildlife
Act of 1953, the National Parks Act, the Animals Protection Act, and the Trade in
Endangered Species Act. These laws prohibit the capture of kea on private and public
lands, prohibit their mistreatment, and ban their export. However, parrot-smuggling
is a lucrative business, and kea are often captured and exported for the black market
pet trade. It is unknown exactly how many kea are left in the wild. Estimates range
from only 2,000 to 5,000 birds, but for now, kea populations appear to be stable--especially
in national parks and other protected areas.
Additional Links
Contributors
Allison Poor (), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Allison Poor (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Rebecca Williams (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Terry Root (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- Australian
-
Living in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and associated islands.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- island endemic
-
animals that live only on an island or set of islands.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- mountains
-
This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- polygynous
-
having more than one female as a mate at one time
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- year-round breeding
-
breeding takes place throughout the year
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- arboreal
-
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- migratory
-
makes seasonal movements between breeding and wintering grounds
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- dominance hierarchies
-
ranking system or pecking order among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- carrion
-
flesh of dead animals.
- ecotourism
-
humans benefit economically by promoting tourism that focuses on the appreciation of natural areas or animals. Ecotourism implies that there are existing programs that profit from the appreciation of natural areas or animals.
- causes or carries domestic animal disease
-
either directly causes, or indirectly transmits, a disease to a domestic animal
- omnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Bond, A., K. Wilson, J. Diamond. 1991. Sexual dimorphism in the kea (Nestor notabilis). Emu , 91: 12-19.
Carey, J., D. Judge. 2002. "Longevity records: Life spans of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish" (On-line). Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. Accessed October 03, 2005 at http://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .
Diamond, J., A. Bond. 1999. Kea, bird of paradox: the evolution and behavior of a New Zealand parrot . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, Ltd..
Gajdon, G., N. Fijn, L. Huber. 2004. Testing social learning in a wild mountain parrot, the kea (Nestor notabilis). Learning & Behavior , 32 (1): 62-71.
Huber, L., M. Taborsky. 2001. Social effects on object-exploration in keas. Advances in Ethology , 36: 181-182.
Mathewson, W. 1991. Coping with the killer kea. International Wildlife , 21: 36-7.
Tebbich, S., M. Taborsky, H. Winkler. 1996. Social manipulation causes cooperation in keas. Animal Behaviour , 52: 1-10.
del Hoyo, J., A. Elliot, J. Sargatal. 1996. Handbook of the Birds of the World: Volume 4: Sandgrouse to Cuckoos . Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.