Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

Kea are found only in the moun­tains of South Is­land, New Zealand. (del Hoyo, et al., 1996; Teb­bich, et al., 1996)

• Biogeographic Regions
• australian
  • native

• 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. (del Hoyo, et al., 1996)

• Habitat Regions
• temperate
• terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• forest
• mountains

• Range elevation

  600 to 2000 m

  1968.50 to 6561.68 ft

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. (Bond, et al., 1991; del Hoyo, et al., 1996; Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999)

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger

• Average mass

  922 g

  32.49 oz

• Average length

  48 cm

  18.90 in

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. (del Hoyo, et al., 1996; Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999; Teb­bich, et al., 1996)

• 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. (del Hoyo, et al., 1996; Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999; Teb­bich, et al., 1996)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• year-round breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• oviparous

• Breeding interval

  Kea breed once yearly.

• Breeding season

  Kea breed mainly between January and July.

• Range eggs per season

  2 to 4

• Range time to hatching

  3 to 4 weeks

• Average fledging age

  13 weeks

• Range time to independence

  18 to 19 weeks

• Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  3 (low) years

• Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

  4 to 5 years

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. (Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999)

• Parental Investment
• altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
    • male
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• extended period of juvenile learning

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Kea can live 14.4 years in cap­tiv­ity. Life span in the wild has not been re­ported. (Carey and Judge, 2002)

• Range lifespan
  Status: captivity

  14.4 (high) years

• Average lifespan
  Status: captivity

  14.4 years

  Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

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. (Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999; Gaj­don, et al., 2004; Huber and Taborsky, 2001; Teb­bich, et al., 1996)

• Key Behaviors
• arboreal
• flies
• diurnal
• motile
• migratory
• social
• dominance hierarchies

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. (Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999)

• Communication Channels
• visual
• acoustic

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

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. (del Hoyo, et al., 1996; Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999; Math­ew­son, 1991)

• 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 no­vaezee­landiae) 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. (Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999)

• Known Predators

  • New Zealand falcons (Falco novaezeelandiae)

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 habrop­tila), 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. (Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999)

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. (Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999; Math­ew­son, 1991)

• 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. (Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999)

• 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. (del Hoyo, et al., 1996; Di­a­mond and Bond, 1999)

• IUCN Red List

  Vulnerable
  More information

• IUCN Red List

  Vulnerable
  More information

• US Migratory Bird Act

  No special status

• US Federal List

  No special status

• CITES

  Appendix II

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.

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.