Kea - note the mischievous expression
| Kea | ||||||||||||||
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| Nestor notabilis |
The Kea (Nestor notabilis) is a parrot native to New Zealand. An alpine bird, the Kea is renowned for its ability to invade campsites in search of food, tearing open packaging and opening containers for anything edible. Its playfulness extends to ripping out the rubber on car windows, presumably for fun.
Keas are predominately green in colour, with bright red flashes under their wings.
The Kea is now a protected species, but they were once routinely killed by farmers due to occasionally attacking sheep. Keas usually feed from plants, but when food is scarce they will scavenge dead animals or hunt small animals such as rats or other birds.