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Kea - Mountain Parrot
Television (Full Length) – 1993
This documentary tells the story of the inimitable kea. The 'Clown of the Alps' is heralded as the world’s smartest bird (its intelligence rivals a monkey’s). Kea are famous on South Island tracks and ski fields for their insatiable (and destructive) inquisitiveness. Curiosity almost killed the kea when it was labelled a sheep killer, and tens of thousands were killed for a bounty. After shots of baby kea being fed, there is extraordinary night footage in clip four of the 'avian wolf' in action. The award-winning film makes a compelling case for the charismatic kea as a national icon.
Its brain and its beak are a kea's tools for survival, a combination that gets it a living, but has also earned it a doubtful reputation in places.– Narrator Barry Paine
Key Cast & Crew
See all 12 credits
Produced by
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Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR)
Acknowledgements
Made with funding from NZ On Air
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The Black Stilt
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Castles of the Underworld
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Includes scenes shot at The Remarkables ski field
Young Mountains
Documentary on the Southern Alps featuring Kea
Mirrorworld
Kea feature in this NHNZ documentary
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The Black Robin - A Chatham Island Story
Award-winning bird documentary directed by Rod Morris
The Prince of Nosey-Parkers
A 1970s documentary on kea
Uphill
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Another NHNZ show featuring kea
Song of Protest
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Loading Docs 2017 - Ajax the Kea Conservation Dog
A short film on kea conservation in 2017
Kākāpō - Night Parrot
Rod Morris's first documentary as director
Meet the Locals: Treble Cone Vandals
Short doco about keas at Treble Cone ski field
Kiwi - A Natural History
Documentary about New Zealand's national bird
In Search of the Moa
Documentary about New Zealand's legendary moa
Meet the Locals: Sirocco the Kākāpō
Another New Zealand parrot
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Mini documentary about an unusual extinct bird