New Zealand’s Engaged Diaspora an Asset
The number of New Zealanders scattered around the globe is massive. Back in 1999 Brian Sweeney, founder of nzedge.com which originated the idea of a Kiwi Diaspora, put the number at one million of…
Tag Archives: Kea
Experts Develop Roadside Gym for Endangered Kea
Conservationists want to stop New Zealand’s kea – dubbed the world’s smartest parrot – from wandering onto roads and begging humans for food, so they have designed a special gym for the country’s playful…
Laughing Kea a Science Story of the Year
Leading scientists pick the dozen most significant discoveries and developments of 2017 – from a steep decline in flying insects to a laughter-like play vocalisation – a warble call – has been discovered in…
Kea Soars to Bird of the Year Victory
The kea, the world’s only alpine parrot, has been crowned New Zealand Bird of the Year, beating the kereru and the kakapo with thousands more votes cast for the species than there are surviving…
Kea’s Laughter Positively Contagious
New Zealand’s alpine parrot the kea has become the first non-mammal to show signs of contagious “laughter,” according to a study published in the journal Current Biology. Kea aren’t quite cracking each other…
New Zealand Paradise in New York Gallery
Transcendental images of New Zealand sky, horizons and water by photographer Brian Sweeney are on show at pop-up New Zealand gallery ORA on New York’s Seventh Avenue. “Paradise Road,” Sweeney’s exhibition of…
Advancing Our Reputation on the World Stage
Four internationally successful New Zealanders – digital entrepreneur Claudia Batten (pictured), Shrek director Andrew Adamson, investor Neville Jordan, surgical robotics technologist Dr Catherine Mohr – have been celebrated for advancing our reputation on the…
Finding the Famous Five
When he was last in New Zealand British zoologist Mark Carwardine spent two weeks travelling the length and breadth of the country, “in search of an outlandish menagerie of animals known as the ‘Small…
Investing for Prosperity
A new study undertaken by global network Kea claims that encouraging expatriate New Zealanders to invest in their home country is the best way to “achieve improved prosperity.” The research was based on interviews…
Spend Your Time Wisely
New Zealander Derek Handley, who sold his mobile marketing company, The Hyperfactory to American media conglomerate Meredith Corporation last year for an undisclosed amount, gave a speech in April at Kea, New Zealand’s global…
NEW Zealand: NEW Thinking
Brian Sweeney’s Speech at Kea’s “NEW Zealand: NEW Thinking” event in New York. (13 minutes)
Staying Connected with Home
Online networking site Kea New Zealand has launched a global ‘census’ of expatriate New Zealanders, dubbed ‘Every Kiwi Counts’, and aimed at connecting the estimated one million of us living overseas. “New Zealanders living…
Identity Theft
A Fiordland kea made off with a Scottish tourist’s passport when the man’s tour bus driver opened the luggage compartment of the vehicle. The passport has not been recovered and, given the 4,600 square…
Karate vs. Kea
Organisers of a vintage car rally near Mt Cook took an unusual defensive stance against marauding local kea, which are notorious for damaging cars in alpine areas. The car club hired 40 karate practitioners to protect…
Kea Car-ha?
Judy Diamond and Alan B. Bond’s spent hours at an Arthur’s Pass rubbish dump working out the evolutionary significance of the kea: “Keas are giant mountain parrots, and they love cars, especially soft-tops. If you leave…
Who’s a Clever Kea Then?
The kea outscores gibbons in intelligence tests. “There was definitely learning going on,” says Rachel Johnston who administered the avian IQ tests.
Clever Kea
The inhospitable alpine environment has caused the kea to develop “a very human-like curiosity and flexibility”.
Bad Bird
“Even in New Zealand there are sheep farmers that lose stock to wildlife, namely the Kea, a large native and protected parrot. It may seem incredible, but it’s true.”
