---
title: "What the sources say about the Kea (Alpine Parrot) | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "45 claims from the Kea (Alpine Parrot) profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Kea (Alpine Parrot) (*Nestor notabilis*)

> 45 claims from the Kea (Alpine Parrot) profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Kea (Alpine Parrot)](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/kea/)

## Kea. New Zealand Birds Online.

https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/kea

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| persecuted as a sheep killer for over a century | Bounty hunting of kea as a measure to protect sheep was outlawed in 1971 ... This behaviour is not common, but was the reason why kea were persecuted for over a hundred years. (note: "This behaviour" is the sheep attack described in the sentence before it on the page.) |
| Native forest, subalpine scrub, tussock and herb-field along the South Island's axial ranges, from coastal dunes to high alpine peaks | Kea range over about four million hectares along the axial ranges of the South Island ... They can be found from coastal dunes to high alpine peaks ... Their foraging habitat includes all types of native forest, sub-alpine scrub, tussock and herb-field. |
| ranging over about four million hectares of its axial ranges from Farewell Spit to Waitutu | Kea range over about four million hectares along the axial ranges of the South Island, from Farewell Spit to Waitutu, plus the Kaikoura Ranges. |
| Kea can be found from coastal dunes to high alpine peaks. | They can be found from coastal dunes to high alpine peaks |
| An adult grows to about 46 centimetres long. | Identification Length: 46 cm Weight: 900 - 1100 g (male), 700 - 900 g (female) (note: NZBO's Identification block; short field values, given with surrounding context.) |
| Males weigh 900 to 1,100 grams | Weight: 900 - 1100 g (male), 700 - 900 g (female) |
| Kea have been recorded living at least 22 years. | Maximum longevity At least 22 years |
| huhu grubs dug out of rotten logs | excavate rotten logs for huhu grubs |
| and the carcasses of deer, chamois, tahr and sheep | throughout their range they scavenge from carcasses of deer, chamois, tahr, and sheep |
| Some kea perch on a sheep's back and dig through skin and muscle to reach the fat around its kidneys, a wound that can turn septic and kill the sheep. | Some birds perch on sheeps' backs and dig through skin and muscle on the rump to reach the fat around the kidneys, which can result in fatal septicaemia. This behaviour is not common |
| The behaviour was not common, but it was the reason kea were persecuted for over a hundred years | This behaviour is not common, but was the reason why kea were persecuted for over a hundred years. |
| about 150,000 were shot between 1860 and 1970 | the shooting of 150,000 birds between 1860 and 1970 |
| Bounty hunting of kea to protect sheep was outlawed in 1971, and full protection was finally granted in 1986. | Bounty hunting of kea as a measure to protect sheep was outlawed in 1971, and full protection was finally granted in 1986. |
| Kea nest on the ground, in natural cavities such as rock crevices, hollow logs and hollows under tree roots. | on the ground in natural cavities such as a rock crevice, the hollow base of a large tree, a hollow under the roots of a tree, a hollow log (note: The page's sentence begins "Kea nest mainly below the tree line, on the ground...": "mainly" qualifies below the tree line, not the ground.) |
| counting kea across such rugged terrain is difficult, and any estimate is little more than a guess | Estimating kea population size is difficult due to their extensive range, rugged terrain, low kea density, cryptic behaviour of adults and flocking behaviour of juveniles. With current data, any population estimate is little more than a guess. |
| tags: omnivore | Kea are omnivorous, taking a wide range of plant and animal matter. |

## Nestor notabilis (kea). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Nestor_notabilis/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Beech leaves, buds and nuts, berries, nectar, roots, beetle grubs, and carrion | The leaves, buds, and nuts of southern beeches (Nothofagus) are especially important in the kea diet ... In summer kea consume the nectar and pollen of flowering mountain flax ... They eat berries of coprosma ... In summer they also eat beetle grubs ... continue foraging on the roots, bulbs, fruit, seeds, and stems of other plants ... relish the flesh and bone marrow from carcasses |
| has been known to wreck car wipers | Kea have been known to destroy car accessories, such as windshield wipers and weather stripping. |
| The kea (Nestor notabilis) lives only on New Zealand's South Island | Kea are found only in the mountains of South Island, New Zealand. |
| females weigh about 20 percent less, with a shorter, less curved upper bill | Kea have decurved upper bills (culmens). Females have shorter, less curved culmens and weigh about 20 percent less than males. |
| They are opportunistic omnivores, eating plants and animals alike | Kea are opportunistic, omnivorous parrots. |
| beech leaves, buds and nuts, berries, nectar and roots | The leaves, buds, and nuts of southern beeches (Nothofagus) are especially important in the kea diet ... In summer kea consume the nectar and pollen of flowering mountain flax ... They eat berries of coprosma ... continue foraging on the roots, bulbs, fruit, seeds, and stems of other plants |
| they have been known to destroy car wipers and weather stripping | Kea have been known to destroy car accessories, such as windshield wipers and weather stripping. |
| Captive kea can learn a complicated task just by watching others, though this has not been shown in wild kea. | 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 |

## Kea. New Zealand Department of Conservation.

https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/kea/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| That leaves eggs and chicks exposed to introduced stoats and feral cats, which kill adult kea too. | These introduced predators kill kea: Stoats (main predator) - they kill adult kea, chicks and eggs. Feral cats - they kill adult kea, chicks and eggs. ... Kea are especially at risk because they nest on the ground and spend lots of time there looking for food. |
| Where predators are controlled, about 70% of kea nests succeed; without control, success can drop to 10% or less. | Kea monitoring shows when predators are controlled, about 70% of kea nests succeed. Without control, this can drop to 10% or less. |
| The Department of Conservation estimates there are 1,000 to 5,000 kea | Population: 1,000-5,000 estimated (note: DOC's current species page. NZBO (Kemp 2013, updated 2021) gives about 6,000 and calls 1,000-5,000 extreme; the DOC 2021 blog gives 3,000-7,000. The current institution page is used.) |
| People harm kea too, through lead poisoning, deliberate killing, feeding them, and accidents with man-made items such as cars. | Threats: Predation, human impacts including lead poisoning, deliberate killing, being fed by people, and accidents with man-made items such as cars |

## The hidden risk for the world's smartest bird. New Zealand Department of Conservation, 2021.

https://blog.doc.govt.nz/2021/06/30/the-hidden-risk-for-the-worlds-smartest-bird/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| plus a love of tinkering that often turns on taps | Kea love tinkering. They often turn on taps |
| A 2021 Department of Conservation article reported feral cats killing kea in numbers comparable to stoats in eastern parts of the South Island. | Feral cats are killing kea, in numbers comparable to stoats in eastern parts of the South Island. (note: 2021 is the post's date (URL /2021/06/30/ and reference metadata).) |
| Kea love tinkering: they often turn on taps | Kea love tinkering. They often turn on taps |
| A kea at Mueller Hut once even managed to lock a mountaineer inside the toilet. | a kea once managed to lock a mountaineer in the toilet at the Mueller hut |

## Bastos & Taylor (2020). Kea show three signatures of domain-general statistical inference. Nature Communications.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14695-1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| matched human infants and chimpanzees on a probability test | kea mirrored the performance of infants 28 and chimpanzees 38 in using the relative frequency of objects across this experiment (note: Experiment 1 of the study; the paper's tasks were those given to human infants ("signatures of human statistical inference, using comparable tasks to those administered to infants").) |
| Uses relative quantities to predict odds, as human infants and chimpanzees do | kea mirrored the performance of infants 28 and chimpanzees 38 in using the relative frequency of objects across this experiment |
| In a 2020 study of six male kea at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve | Our subjects were six male kea at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve (note: 2020 is the publication year, from reference metadata.) |
| the birds showed three signatures of statistical inference | kea exhibit three signatures of statistical inference |
| Watching an experimenter draw from two jars of mixed tokens, they picked the hand more likely to hold a rewarding one | three tasks where they watched sampling events from two populations of mixed objects (rewarding and unrewarding tokens) at different proportions ... Kea observed an experimenter sampling from each of these populations and were then presented with two closed hands. Three of six kea spontaneously showed a preference for the hand that had sampled the population with 100 rewarding tokens |
| by comparing relative quantities | we tested whether kea (Nestor notabilis) can use relative quantities when predicting sampling outcomes |
| then factored in a barrier and whether the experimenter sampled with a bias | integrate both physical information about the presence of a barrier, and social information about the biased sampling of an experimenter, into their predictions |
| The authors say this is evidence that true statistical inference exists outside the great apes. | This result provides evidence that true statistical inference is found outside of the great apes |

## Schwing et al. (2017). Positive emotional contagion in a New Zealand parrot. Current Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.020

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Kea have a distinct play call, and when researchers played recordings of it to wild kea, both juveniles and adults played more. | The kea parrot (Nestor notabilis) has complex play behaviour and a distinct play vocalization ... We used acoustic playback to investigate the effect of play calls on wild kea, finding that play vocalizations increase the amount of play among both juveniles and adults |
| The call likely works as a positive emotional contagion, an emotive behaviour that spreads from one individual to another, the way laughter does in humans. | Positive emotional contagions are outwardly emotive actions that spread from one individual to another, such as glee in preschool children [1] or laughter in humans of all ages [2]. ... likely by acting as a positive emotional contagion. |
| for a parrot whose play call is contagious: wild kea that heard a recording of it played more | The kea parrot (Nestor notabilis) has complex play behaviour and a distinct play vocalization ... We used acoustic playback to investigate the effect of play calls on wild kea, finding that play vocalizations increase the amount of play among both juveniles and adults |

## Goodman, Hayward & Hunt (2018). Habitual tool use innovated by free-living New Zealand kea. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32363-9

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| tags: tool-user | Over approximately 2.5 years, sticks were found inserted into at least 227 different trap-boxes that were up to 27 km apart. Video footage confirmed that the stick insertion was kea tool use. |

## Nestor notabilis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22684831A119243358.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2017-3.rlts.t22684831a119243358.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Endangered | iucn red list category endangered en nestor notabilis (note: stats.conservationStatus. Category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List (iucnredlist.org refuses scripts): Endangered (EN), Nestor notabilis, assessed 2017.) |