🦜"Clown of the mountains"
🇧🇷Quia
🇳🇿Kea
📖 (Nestor notabilis)
Oh how I wish I had come up with this nickname! The only alpine parrot in the world is actually known as “clown of the mountains” because of their highly social, curious and friendly behaviour. Well, perhaps not very friendly, because they will absolutely steal your stuff if you’re not careful. Being this social, they like to live in large groups and suffer when alone in captivity. And the plot gets even better, because not only are they clowns, but a collective of Kea is actually called a CIRCUS! A circus of Kea. I’m not even joking. I mean, isn’t this the best parrot ever? The Kea is an endemic alpine bird of New Zealand, an endangered species under protection, mainly because of human activity, trafficking and hunting. They’re omnivores, eating plants, insects and mammals, including sheep carcasses, which historically pisses off the farmers quite a good deal. Though not all of them eat sheep, it’s not enough to prevent people from shooting and killing them. Unlike most of the Psittaciformes, they’re polygamous (big fiesta lol). Their name comes from the Maori language and it’s very similar to their calling (“keee-aaa”). The Waitaha tribe considers Kea to be guardians of their people.
Psittaciforme is one of the most endangered orders of birds in the world. Their bright colors, longevity (most of them living up to 60 years!) and incredible intelligence makes people think they have the right to capture them and keep them as pets. I personally believe that there’s nothing better than spotting a bird in nature while going on an adventure!
Sources:
https://teara.govt.nz/en/nga-manu-birds/page-6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kea#
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrot
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittaciformes
