PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Kea is an alpine parrot, endemic to New Zealand where it is named “the clown of New Zealand’s Southern Alps”.
Adult has bronze-green upperparts. Lower back is dull red, extending to uppertail coverts. Feathers are edged with black, giving plumage a scaly appearance.
Underparts are brownish olive-green. Underwing coverts are orange-red, with yellow and black barring, extending to the flight feathers undersides. Outer webs of primaries are blue. Undertail feathers are dull yellow.
Head is bronze-green. Bill is blackish with long, decurved, deeply hooked upper mandible. Eyes are dark brown, with fine yellow eye-ring. Legs and feet are bluish-grey.
Female is similar in plumage, but she has shorter bill, with less curved culmen, and is smaller than male.
Juvenile has yellowish crown, cere and lower base of the bill.

VOICE: Kea’s name is coming from its call, resounding through peak’s mist. Its call is a shrill, echoing “Keee-aa”, uttered while it is soaring high. On the ground, Kea utters soft murmurings and whistles.

HABITAT: Kea lives in high-country forests, steep wooded valleys, steep mountains, and forests at the edges of sub-alpine scrublands, at 600 to 2,000 metres of elevation. It may occasionally descend to lower valleys.
In summer, Kea lives in high elevation scrub and alpine tundra. In autumn, it moves to higher areas for eating berries. In winter, it moves below the timberline.
GEOGRAPHIC RANGE: Kea is found in the mountains of South Islands in New Zealand.

BEHAVIOUR: Kea feeds on seeds, foliage, insects and nectar, as other parrots. But its sharp, hooked bill allows it to dig out roots and grubs. It also uses the upper part of its bill for tearing up carcasses, or when it attacks sickly sheep. They forage in the morning and evening, roosting during the afternoon on tree branches, as at night.
Keas communicate with numerous kinds of vocalizations, but also by fluffing their feathers on the head, and by posturing.
Keas are polygamous. Males fight for hierarchy and dominance. These hierarchies are not linear. An adult male may dominate a sub adult, but a juvenile male may be dominant to an adult male.
They live in family groups, and forage in flocks of 30 to 40 birds, often in garbage dumps.
Kea has also a murderous behaviour, attacking the Shearwater nest-holes. It stalks the place, listening with head cocked. Under the ground, the Shearwater chicks may occasionally call, and the Kea reacts very quickly, starting to dig. It uses its bill as a mattock and tears away the earth to reach the entrance and inside. At this moment, it uses its bill as a hook, and rips the chicks to pieces.
This behaviour and its habits to attack sheep had made the bird so unloved, and very numerous Keas were persecuted over the last 130 years.
Kea is able to adapt, and may learn or create solutions in order to survive. They can explore and manipulate items in their habitat and destroy accessories of cars and others. This behaviour of destructiveness and curiosity is considered as aspects of play by scientists. It is often seen playing with twigs or stones, singly or in groups.
Keas chase predators and intruders in groups, chasing them away if one bird of the group is threatened.

FLIGHT: Kea has strong flight. It soars high in the sky, into mountain mists, and seems to play on air currents.

REPRODUCTION / NESTING: Copulation is often initiated by female. She approaches the male and adopts a posture of submission, or solicits preening, or invites it to play. Before mounting the female, male feeds her with regurgitated food.
Keas can breed at any time of the year, except in late autumn. Usual period lasts from July to January.
Keas nest in burrows under logs, rocks and tree roots, but also in cavities among boulders, and sometimes, they may build a nest over several years. They add plant material such as sticks, grasses, moss and lichens.
Female lays 2 to 4 eggs. Incubation lasts about 3 to 4 weeks, by female. She is fed by male, and rarely leaves the nest.
Altricial chicks are fed by female, but food is brought at nest by the male. When chicks reach one month, male feeds them too, and during about 6 weeks.
Young fledge between 9 and 13 weeks of age, and they are still fed by male alone.
Then, juvenile disperse from the nest-site, and travel in flocks, until they reach their sexual maturity, at 3 years for females, and 4 to 5 years for males.

FOOD HABITS: Keas are omnivorous, able to adapt to their environment, according to season and weather. Kea can feed on leaves, buds and nuts. They dig for roots and insects. In summer, Kea consumes nectar and pollen from flowers, and leaves, fruits, seeds and flowers of various plants. They also eat beetle larvae, grasshoppers and snails. They also scavenge year round and feed on carcasses. They may eat rabbits and mice, and they are suspected to attack sheep.

PROTECTION / THREATS: Kea populations seem to be stable, particularly in national parks, and various protected areas. But the species is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, and they have relatively restricted range.
Keas are victims of lucrative business, often captured and exported for the black market pet trade. The species is now protected by various organisms and associations.

Sources:
"Parrots of the world" by Joseph M. Forshaw.
"Handbook of the Birds of the World" Vol.4.
Personal observations at Loro Parque Breeding Center