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Hero image for The Prince of Nosey-Parkers

The Prince of Nosey-Parkers

Television (Full Length) – 1972

In this Survey documentary from 1972, director Peter Coates pays tribute to the intelligence and wit of the kea, the world’s only mountain parrot. As a& Christchurch Star review put it, "they must be the least camera-shy birds in creation". The kea’s antics are aided by Ian McDonald’s playful music, plus interviews with kea expert Dick Jackson, lecturer Les Cleveland, climber John Pascoe, a ranger, a tramper, and a farmer who describes hunting kea — now threatened and protected, but once the subject of a bounty after the opportunistic birds developed a taste for sheep sashimi.

A haka of curiosity and triumph...
– Legendary climber John Pascoe recalls a description of the kea's call

Produced by

Logo for NZ Broadcasting Corporation

NZ Broadcasting Corporation