April 5, 2011

A unique bird describe as having a “Swiss Army Knife” beak

Location: Near Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand (44° 38′ 0″ S, 167° 51′ 0″ E)
Date: 21 May 2009, 4.40pm
Camera: Canon 300D with EF 70-200/f4 IS L

Kea is one of a very few alpine parrots in the world, and its only habitat is the South Island of NZ. It is a fairly big bird, measuring around 45-50cm and weighs an average of 1 kg. It is well-known for their curiosity and intelligence- it will peck and carry away any unguarded items, investigate backpacks, boots and so on. It is attracted by prospects of food scraps and have known to pry apart rubber parts of cars. So the next time you meet a kea in NZ, do not get too friendly or close to it and watch out for any loose hanging items.

1 comment:

Lori said...

I love the details!