{"id":348,"date":"2023-03-23T03:17:47","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T03:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/23\/meet-the-chunky-tipsy-kereru-new-zealands-native-wood-pigeon\/"},"modified":"2023-03-23T03:17:47","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T03:17:47","slug":"meet-the-chunky-tipsy-kereru-new-zealands-native-wood-pigeon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/23\/meet-the-chunky-tipsy-kereru-new-zealands-native-wood-pigeon\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the chunky, tipsy kerer\u016b: New Zealand\u2019s native wood pigeon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For years and years, I\u2019ve harped on and on here about birds in New Zealand<\/a>. I love them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because New Zealand evolved without mammals, many evolved to fill that ecological space, with some losing their ability to fly. It also means that they all seem to have epic and memorable personalities. There\u2019s the cheeky kea, a highly intelligent mountain parrot. Or how about Sirocco<\/a>, the famous k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d, who went viral for trying to mate with Mark Carwardine\u2019s head in a documentary with Stephen Fry? Our national icon, the kiwi, gives birth to an egg so large it\u2019s the equivalent of a human birthing a three-year-old.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many of these guys hover on the brink of extinction, incredibly rare and endangered because of habitat loss and introduced predators. They\u2019re flashy and showy and often get most of the attention. But then they are so many others who deserve the spotlight, which I am working more on highlighting here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

But I wanted to start with a bird that you often have a chance to see while in New Zealand. Somewhat rare, the kerer\u016b<\/a> is our native wood pigeon. A large bird with iridescent green feathers, a white body, red eyes and feet, with some bronze and purple thrown in, kerer\u016b are a well-known and beloved bird here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These guys can get really fat, combined with their tiny heads and beautiful coloring making them pretty cute, much cuter than your standard city pigeons or, from where I grew up, rats of the skies. In fact, they\u2019re so heavy you often hear them easily in the forest. Known for being somewhat clumsy and mating for life, their wings beat very noisily when they take off, making a distinctive whoosh-whoosh sound. I often hear them before I see them. Kerer\u016b are very meme-able<\/p>\n

But what it\u2019s most famous for? Kerer\u016b are known to get drunk on fermented berries and fall out of trees. Ah, a bird after my own heart. Bird of the Year<\/a> champions in 2018, kiwis really identified with these guys, voting them right to the top.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And you bet your ass that one day I\u2019ll open a bar called The Drunken Kerer\u016b \u2013 patent-pending.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

Kerer\u016b<\/a> occupy a unique space in New Zealand ecology. They\u2019re not so rare that you\u2019ll never see them. But you won\u2019t see them enough to think they\u2019re common \u2013 unless you live in an extra special place. For example, I\u2019ve never seen one in Wanaka, but I have seen them on the fringes of nearby Mt. Aspiring National Park and in most ecosanctuaries<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m no expert, but if I had to guess, that\u2019s because of the massive development here with virtually no native bush around the town and the fact that there are too many cats here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I remember seeing one hang around my old house in Rapaki outside Lyttelton for a few days. It was an unforgettable experience. Generally, kerer\u016b hang around places with decent predator control. Their big white bellies and chunky shape are hard to miss, especially when they perch themselves on thin, tiny branches that don\u2019t look like they should support their weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Will they or will they not fall out of a tree? Or end up swinging upside down<\/a> from a branch? Anything is possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t16 birds you might meet on New Zealand\u2019s South Island<\/a>\t<\/div>\n

<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

In my opinion, if I see a kerer\u016b in a city or town itself, something is going right there. There have been record numbers of kerer\u016b spreading around our capital, Wellington, probably in large thanks to the massive predator-free Zealandia<\/a> ecosanctuary nearby.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One place I noticed kerer\u016b a lot was when I spent up in Gisborne with Zeden Cider<\/a>. They were in many parks, and I felt like I saw them constantly. Zeden Cider gives 10% of its profits to Forest & Bird, the kaitiaki\/guardians of these wild creatures, including kerer\u016b. In fact, kerer\u016b feature in some of their designs which I love. The more brands get behind conservation, and the more awareness they can spread, the better!<\/p>\n

I spent a few days with the local Forest and Bird chapter in Gisborne, checking out the different projects they were working on and seeing some of their success stories on the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

Kerer\u016b were once a main source of food for M\u0101ori. Often preserved in their own fat, they were harvested in snares in autumn when they were getting super fat. The feathers were used for adorning things and making cloaks. Since Europeans arrived in New Zealand, there has been conflict over the kerer\u016b. They wanted to hunt them for sport with guns, banning traditional trapping.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eventually, with the decline of the kerer\u016b, hunting them in any way. But for the past thirty years, there\u2019s been significant debates over whether or not to reestablish the customary harvest of kerer\u016b by M\u0101ori. As of now, it\u2019s still banned because their population is not considered to be strong enough to cope with annual harvests. Some still hunt them anyways.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some M\u0101ori iwi have a lasting, spiritual relationship with kerer\u016b that goes back to the arrival of the first canoes on our shores. Considered a taonga (a cultural treasure), kerer\u016b feature in many of the myths and stories.<\/p>\n

One story recounts that the kerer\u016b gained its colorful plumage when the demigod M\u0101ui, trying to find out where his mother went each day, hid her skirt to delay her. When she went to the underworld without it, M\u0101ui changed into a white pigeon and followed her. He still held the skirt, which became the kerer\u016b\u2019s white breast and purple-green neck feathers.<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

Kerer\u016b are really important in the biodiversity of New Zealand because they are one of two birds here that can eat fruit whole. This means they scatter seeds wherever they fly, helping spread them far and wide. Without this, many of our native trees and forests will be in big trouble. Two other subspecies of kerer\u016b have already gone extinct.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an ideal ecosystem, kerer\u016b might live for more than 20 years. Sadly, at the moment, on average, they only live to about the age of five because of pests, cars, or collisions with windows.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I hope that one day when I go into the forests, I can hear huge flocks of kerer\u016b whooshing through the trees. Imagine the sound! Or dozens of drunken kerer\u016b flopping around in your garden? Wouldn\u2019t that be a sight?!<\/p>\n

Have you met a kerer\u016b before? Whereabouts?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

\"Kerer\u016b\"<\/p>\n

Many thanks to Zeden for hosting me in Gisborne. Like always, I\u2019m keeping it real \u2013 like you could expect less from me.<\/em><\/h5>\n

The post Meet the chunky, tipsy kerer\u016b: New Zealand\u2019s native wood pigeon<\/a> appeared first on Young Adventuress<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For years and years, I\u2019ve harped on and on here about birds in New Zealand. I love them.\u00a0 Because New Zealand evolved without mammals, many evolved to fill that ecological space, with some losing their ability to fly. It also means that they all seem to have epic and memorable personalities. There\u2019s the cheeky kea, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":349,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[]},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myholidayradar.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}