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.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
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.
US Migratory Bird Act: no special status
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable
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
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
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.
Mutualist Species:
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.
Animal Foods: mammals; carrion ; insects; mollusks
Plant Foods: leaves; roots and tubers; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; nectar; pollen; flowers
Primary Diet: omnivore
Kea are found only in the mountains of South Island, New Zealand.
Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native )
Other Geographic Terms: island endemic
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.
Range elevation: 600 to 2000 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; mountains
Kea can live 14.4 years in captivity. Life span in the wild has not been reported.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 14.4 (high) years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 14.4 years.
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.
Average mass: 922 g.
Average length: 48 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger
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.
Known Predators:
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.
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.
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); 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
