Mountain Parrot: How the Kea ended up In New Zealand Alps | Wild to Know

🦜 Keas live in New Zealand’s Southern Alps: the world’s only mountain parrots. The bright orange feathers beneath their green wings are just one of their surprising features. They’re also known for their playful, but also destructive, nature.
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Kea, the world’s only mountain parrots. Unlike their bright cousins who live in tropical rainforests, these green-and-orange birds make their home in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.
The bright orange feathers beneath their green wings are just one of their surprising features. With their playful personalities and destructive behavior, they’re known as “clowns of the mountains.” But they weren’t always seen this way: Kea were once killed in their thousands, and are now an endangered species. We find out why !
In a fascinating experiment that pits them against famously smart crows, keas display their ingenuity. It’s a skill that helps them survive in the mountains!
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kzbin.info...
Chapters:
00:00 Parrot Time!
00:09 Introducing the Kea
00:42 New Zealand: Not only home to Hobbits
01:23 Kea Stats
01:50 Their Dark Past
02:24 Their New Home
02:37 Why are they called "Kea"
03:03 Get Ready to Play!
03:35 Kea destroying cars
03:54 Kea Vs Crow
06:24 Corvid Origins
06:25 Why Kea are little Lokis
07:39 Thanks for Staying till the End
Sources:
docs.google.com/document/d/1S...
#terramater #parrot #newzealand #kea

[@terramater]

Friends! Thanks for watching! We can’t get enough of those colorful parrots, you too? Then follow this link to our parrot playlist for more ;) kzbin.info/aero/PLZ3CjNbCdQe9bPn3PB9BYxCxIz5OFmlFD

[@rjung_ch]

Really enjoyed it. Divergent paths of evolution and their outcome. Cheers 👍💪✌

[@terramater]

Hi @rjung_ch! That is great to hear! Thanks for watching!

[@Carlos-bz5oo]

You made a mistake: terrrestrial mammals did occur in New Zealand. See ST Bathans mammal

[@ct1762]

Absolutely incredible how similarly intelligent both birds are! Honestly that's primate-level smart.

[@terramater]

That is absolutely right! They also recognise themselves in the mirror, which is a big indicator for intelligence and self-awareness.

[@MichaelKontze]

keas are such beautiful, inquisitive, and sometimes naughty animals, one time while tramping in the bush with my family a kea even stole a biscuit from my sister

[@terramater]

Hi @MichaelKontze! That sounds like a fun encounter. I hope it wasn't the last biscuit.

[@jyrodummy-oi9bn]

such a cute and funny birds looks extra adorable when they are playing and also smart too!

[@terramater]

Hi @jyrodummy-oi9bn! Yeah they really adorable.

[@stevebennett9839]

Ive never heard of this bird, they seem very interesting. This channel always seems to find the not so talked about animals and put the spot light on them, thats what i love about this channel. Keep up the good work.

[@terramater]

Hi @stevebennett9839! Great that you like the video and even better that you now know the Kea. They are amazing birds!

[@johnanson5894]

I never knew this! Incredible!

[@paulstevens9487]

I'm thinking the reason the crow didn't reach into the box to grab the treat was because it realised it's collar wouldn't fit through the door, quite clever.

[@terramater]

Well she is certainly clever so maybe you are right 😄

[@Krankenwagen571]

Yeah , same thoughts

[@mphillips4324]

VERY interesting video. Thank you!

[@terramater]

Hi @mphillips4324! Thank you for watching and enjoying it! 😊

[@blunzengrostl5899]

Oh nice! A new parrot story!

[@terramater]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@BiodiWerWieWas]

Kea, Kea!😍

[@kittenlang8641]

Great documentary!

[@terramater]

Hi @kittenlang8641! Thanks! Great to hear that!

[@elisamf]

Wow, i never imagined that! Today i learned something new :D

[@terramater]

Hey @elisamf! That is great! Glad we could help ;)

[@abhishekgond5503]

Hey terra I'm new subscriber ur videos are too informative and awesome ❤

[@terramater]

Hi @abhishekgond5503! Welcome to our channel! It is great to hear that you like our content 😊😊

[@carpy1252]

So sad how they were persecuted. Thankfully they survived, unlike America's Carolina parakeet .. what an unbelievable loss.

[@terramater]

Hi @carpy1252! Yes it is sad!

[@BiodiWerWieWas]

I love cool parrot videos! 😍

[@terramater]

Hi @KatrinHemmer! Well who would not enjoy those 😄

[@mirtha1908]

watched one of these lads strip the rubber seal off of a classic Porsche once, it was beautiful, owner had plenty of fun to come back to

[@terramater]

Hi @mirtha1908! Yeah they love to destroy cars 😅

[@tt-yd6xs]

Wow I’m just traveling the South Island of New Zealand. I hope I can find a wild Kea🤞

[@terramater]

Hi @tt-yd6xs! Oh that's pretty cool! You should be able to see some if you travel a bit into the mountains.

[@danielhay3385]

Best place to find them is Arthur's Pass! It's very famous for its Kea population who like hanging around (and stealing from) tourists

[@tt-yd6xs]

@@danielhay3385 update: I found wild keas on Arthur’s pass national park. One of them landed on my car and started chewing the wiper😂 Thanks a lot it was a good experience.

[@danielhay3385]

@@tt-yd6xs Yeah that is the classic Arthurs Pass experience! Glad you enjoyed it, and hope you have a great trip!

[@indyreno2933]

Parrots (order Psittaciformes) are split into eight extant families under three superfamilies, the three superfamilies of parrots are Strigopoidea (New Zealand Parrots), Cacatuoidea (Cockatoos), and Psittacoidea (True Parrots), the new zealand parrots (superfamily Strigopoidea) are split into the families Nestoridae (Kakas and Kea) and Strigopidae (Kakapo and Kakarikis), the cockatoos (superfamily Cacatuoidea) are split into the families Nymphicidae (Cockatiel and Fossil Relatives) and Cacatuidae (True Cockatoos), and the true parrots (superfamily Psittacoidea) are split into the families Pezoporidae (Typical Oceanian Parrots), Psittaculidae (Asiatic Parrots), Psittacidae (African Parrots), and Aridae (New World Parrots), the kea (Nesopsittacus notabilis) is for example part of the Nestoridae family within the superfamily Strigopoidea, parrots originated exclusively from Oceania, which is why the new zealand parrots (superfamily Strigopoidea) are the most basal of the three parrot superfamilies, why the cockatoos (superfamily Cacatuoidea) are more primarily found in Oceania, and why the family Pezoporidae that contains a majority of parrot species native to Oceania is the most basal of the four extant families of true parrots (superfamily Psittacoidea).

[@terramater]

Hi @indyreno2933! Thanks for the deep dive into parrot phylogeny.

[@tosjreang]

such an incredible species.

[@terramater]

Hi @tosjreang! They really are!

[@TheyCallMeNewb]

Striking divergencies. And parenthetically, birds are revealed to have incredibly thin necks when one puts a collar around it, squashing the feathers!

[@terramater]

Hi @TheyCallMeNewb! Those are striking divergencies indeed!

[@jyoster6447]

Sigh... Farmers and their sheep. Nearly always ending up in conflict with the local wildlife and nearly wiping them out as a result. But it's fun to see how curious the Kea are and how clever they are.

[@terramater]

Hi @jyoster6447! Yeah it is sad that seemingly the first solution is often violence.

[@KateeAngel]

Also sheep were why most farmers in Europe were pushed out of their land by wealthy land-owners in the past. Sheep farming requires less workers than crop farming.

[@CordeliaWagner1999]

Some german Cities have striving Colonies of Keas. Düsseldorf for Example. At the Kö, the Luxury Brrand shopping Streit. Always a Delight to see them pick apart the windshield wipers of Bugattis and Lamborghinis. 🥰🥰🥰

[@terramater]

Hi @CordeliaWagner1999! Are you sure those are Kea? I know of other parrots (we made a video about them) but i didn't know that there are wild kea in Germany.

[@carlosguimaraes624]

Cool!

[@terramater]

Hey @carlosguimaraes624! They really are cool aren't they^^

[@astick5249]

I feel like they failed to mention how uniquely carnivorous keas are

[@Skyypixelgamer]

I mean they did say that they killed sheep to the point farmers decided to exterminate them from the north island. So I think that fits the bill.

[@astick5249]

@@Skyypixelgamer I suppose so

[@jordyb57]

@@Skyypixelgameryeah but when they mentioned that I definitely wanted to hear more 😂

[@Skyypixelgamer]

@@jordyb57 fair

[@danharvey3096]

The reason why theyre so mischievous is because theyre intelligent enough to just have fun.. They make snowballs and roll them to each other, they harras tourists with their passports & GoPros haha! Theyre almost more like primates than birds.. Theyve even been filmed on camera dragging road cones onto the middle of the road as cars approch in the distance, then moving to the side of the road & watching (& laughing) as cars have to awkardly drive around it.. Tests have proven that they have the problem solving intelligence of an 8yo human child!

[@terramater]

They really are remarkable little birds :)

[@icon2719]

So basically they weren't native to the Southern Elps but dispersed across both NZ islands? How are they able to adapt to the weather conditions over there so quicky?

[@terramater]

Hi @icon2719! They could be found over pretty much the whole island (prefer forests for nesting), also in the mountains but not as much. But because of humans (settlements, bounty, invasive predators,....) they where forced to retreat there and are now mainly found in the Alps

[@synaxarion]

I wonder if they would do well in North America?

[@terramater]

Hi @synaxarion! Good question. But since they are smart and learn fast they would probably do okay ... well only if they also adapt to the dangerous predators.

[@Little-bird-told-me]

The crow had the neck band perhaps that why it hesitate to poke its head into the box ?

[@terramater]

Hi @Little-bird-told-me! That could have certainly played a role. But corvids tend to be more careful when interacting with strange new objects.

[@Little-bird-told-me]

@@terramater Hey thanks for doing a great job. I love your channel. More power to you

[@terramater]

Hi @Little-bird-told-me! Oh thank you! Its always great to hear that someone likes what we do hear 😊

[@krista2216]

Why are the keas rolling over rocks? Will they find insects under them? Isn't that too high, and therefore cold?

[@terramater]

Hi @krista2216! Yes they turn the rocks upside down to look for food. Insects are quite resilient and some can survive in this high altitude. Especially in New Zealand there are some really cool arthropods that freeze over and thaw on a regular basis, and survive that.

[@runkorko]

the sheep eater

[@terramater]

Hi @runkorko! They do. But most of them only if they find a carcass somewhere. The attacking is a rarity.

[@alveolate]

wait, didn't you say earlier that they were forced into the mountains by humans?

[@terramater]

Hi @alveolate! Yes. They could be found all over the island. But because of human interference (hunting, settlement, invasive predators,..) their numbers dwindled and the ones remaining are the birds found in the alps and its surrounding mountain forests (mainly for breeding).

[@norrinradd1770]

They look like kakapo

[@terramater]

Well the kakapo is also a parrot only found on New Zealand and they are closely related

[@WildAnimalBehaviour]

The logo in the middle of the video is annoying

[@jojak8066]

Cry about it

[@WildAnimalBehaviour]

@@jojak8066 I just did

[@user-ki8vg5rs8y]

Busy head 05

[@RobEngland]

My next tattoo will be a kea - my spirit animal

[@terramater]

Hi @RobEngland! Good choice!

[@zairecallis554]

A Kia soul

[@user-or9ov4bx7d]

i iwsh i was a kea instead

[@terramater]

Hi @user-or9ov4bx7d! That is quite the unique wish!

[@gadgetgasspoll2923]

KIA

[@johnanson5894]

I never knew this! Incredible!