Kea (Nestor notabilis)

BirdParrotNew Zealand

Overview

The kea (Nestor notabilis) is a large, olive-green parrot found in the mountains of New Zealand's South Island — the only true alpine parrot in the world. At first glance it looks fairly plain, but in flight it flashes brilliant orange feathers under its wings. The kea is best known for its extraordinary intelligence, boldness, and curiosity: it investigates, manipulates, and problem-solves with a flair that has made it famous (and sometimes infamous) among mountain visitors.

Tough enough to thrive in cold, snowy high country, the kea is a playful, inquisitive opportunist — qualities that delight observers but also lead it into mischief around people and their belongings.

Note: details here cover the kea as a species; treat general statements as approximate and verify against authoritative sources.

Habitat & Range

Kea live in the high country of New Zealand's South Island — alpine and subalpine zones, mountain forests, scrub, and tussock above and around the tree line, including snowy areas in winter. They range across rugged mountain landscapes and are a familiar sight around ski fields, car parks, and alpine huts, where their curiosity brings them into contact with people.

Diet

Kea are omnivores with a very broad, opportunistic diet: leaves, buds, roots, berries, nectar, seeds, and insects and their larvae, plus carrion and other scraps. Their strong, hooked, narrow upper beak is a versatile tool for digging, prying, and tearing. Around people they readily scavenge food, which — while it makes for memorable encounters — is unhealthy for them and is discouraged.

Behavior

The kea is one of the most intelligent birds known, with problem-solving and tool-related abilities that rival those of great apes in some tests, and it is highly social and playful, especially as a juvenile. Kea are notorious for their curiosity and destructiveness around human gear — investigating, pulling, and dismantling rubber, rucksacks, and car parts with their powerful beaks. They are strong fliers, well insulated against cold, and nest in burrows and crevices among rocks and roots. Their loud, soaring “keee-aa” call (which gives them their name) rings across the mountains.

Human Interaction & Conservation

Kea have a complicated history with people: once persecuted and killed in large numbers over claims they attacked sheep, they are now protected and recognised as a treasured, intelligent native bird. Today they face threats from introduced predators, lead poisoning from old buildings, and harm from being fed human food, and their numbers have declined, raising conservation concern. Visitors are urged not to feed kea and to protect their belongings rather than the birds being blamed. Consult the IUCN Red List and New Zealand conservation authorities for current status.

More photos of the kea