Kea

Native New Zealand Parrot. This pair were at the top of the Otira Viaduct in Arthurs Pass. The kea is found only in the South Island of New Zealand and lives in high tree lines and snow. The one with the yellow is not necessarily a boy - apparently the males have longer beaks and are a little bigger but the yellow cere and eye liner denotes youth rather than sex.

Although the colour shows nicely on their top feathers, I could not get a decent photo of their under feathers. I have put a photo showing their under wing colour into my blipfolio - apologies for the speed blur.

They are notorious for wrecking eating anything and will shred the rubber off car window seals and mirrors. They will also get into cars, given the opportunity, to hunt out anything they deem edible. When we pulled up and saw the keas Teacherlady said, "Make sure you close the doors so they don't get in." Uh huh - we're travelling in my convertible - I think the lack of a roof was a bigger problem!