A kea flies in its natural environment near Queenstown, New Zealand.

Kea (Nestor notabilis) — A kea flies near Queenstown, New Zealand.

Creator: [Christian Mehlführer (Chmehl)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Chmehl), [Wikimedia Commons source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kea_in_Flight_MC.jpg), CC BY 2.5. Licence: [CC BY 2.5 deed](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/deed.en).

Licence: CC BY 2.5

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Species record

Kea

Nestor notabilis

Explore the Kea (Nestor notabilis) species record in The Ark Is Earth, including classification, habitat, distribution, conservation information, and sources.

Summary

The kea is a large parrot found only in New Zealand, with its main range on the South Island. It uses montane forests, subalpine areas and alpine habitat, and can be found from the mountains toward the sea. Kea are curious birds that investigate objects and solve problems.

Classification in this archive

  1. Kingdom: Animals
  2. Phylum: Chordates
  3. Subphylum: Vertebrates
  4. Class: Birds
  5. Order: Psittaciformes
  6. Family: Strigopidae
  7. Genus: Nestor

Habitat and distribution

Selected documented locations — not a complete species range.

Habitat
montane forest, subalpine habitats, alpine zones, coastal dunes
Selected regions
Oceania
Selected countries
New Zealand

Conservation status

The Ark records: Endangered.

Did you know?

  • Kea are known for investigating unfamiliar objects and solving problems.

More images

A juvenile kea perches on rubble near Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand.

Kea (Nestor notabilis) — A juvenile kea perches near Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand.

Creator: [Markus Koljonen (Dilaudid)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Dilaudid), [Wikimedia Commons source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kea.jpg), multi-licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en), [CC BY-SA 2.5](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en), [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en), [CC BY-SA 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/deed.en), and [GNU FDL](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html).

Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0; also CC BY-SA 2.5, 2.0, 1.0 and GNU FDL

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Sources and attribution