After a feather-ruffling two weeks, the kea is now lining its nest with its first Bird of the Year win.
The highly intelligent, olive green non-flightless bird, latin name Nestus notabilis (meaning Notable bird) is listed on Forest & Bird’s Bird of the Year page as “in serious trouble”, with only 3,000 – 7,000 birds remaining. The kea’s campaign was led by enthusiasts, researchers and supported by the Kea Conservation Trust.
The aim of the competition was to raise awareness for New Zealand’s native birds – a third of which are in danger of becoming extinct due to predators like as stoats, possums, and rats. You don’t even need to be a bird enthusiast to find that really quite upsetting.
The runner-up birds, the clumsy kererū and the chubby kākāpō came close with 4572 and 2554 votes respectively. But in the end, the worlds only alpine parrot got the worm at the end of the day.
Supporters of the beloved New Zealand Dotterel are fine. No really I’m doing just fine.
To help you celebrate if you were a kea voter or to help you get through this difficult time if you weren’t, we have prepared a list of facts about the kea for you to whip out at parties.
Or to comfort you through these hard times, as you struggle to accept that your favourite bird didn’t win. No really I’m ok. I’ll be fine. It’s fine.
True facts about the kea
– The kea is the world’s only alpine parrot.
– The kea is omnivorous and eats roots, leaves, berries, insects and nectar as well as carrion.
– Back in its rebellious phase, the kea was bounty-hunted because of fears that it was attacking sheep and other livestock. This was stopped when it became fully protected in 1986.
– If you’re wondering how big the kea is to be attacking livestock, it is around 48cm tall, with the males being up to 5cm taller. Yeah, definitely big enough to rough up a sheep.
– The kea doesn’t make nests high up in trees, preferring to burrow in crevices and tree roots.
– Kea have been filmed making and using tools.
– Kea are known theives and destructors of property, known to tear rubber from cars, chew skis, snowboards and nick food scraps. One report also claims a kea made off with a tourist’s passport at Fiordland National Park. Whether the kea attempted identity theft after this incident is unknown.
– The kea’s closest relative is the Bird of the Year runner up, the kākāpō.
– A group of Kea is called a circus. You are welcome.
