• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
Turbott, E.G. 1990. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Wellington.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	A2be+4be	A2be+4be; C2a(ii)

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2017	Endangered	A2be+4be
2016	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2012	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2008	Vulnerable	C2a(ii)
2006	Vulnerable
2004	Vulnerable
2000	Vulnerable
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	119,000 km2	medium
Number of locations	11-100	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	4000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2013
Population trend	decreasing	medium	estimated	1999-2035
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	50-79%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	50-79%	-	-	-
Generation length	12 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: A conservative estimate of one adult female per 2,000 hectares of forest gives a total population of 4,000 mature individuals in the population. Productivity estimates predict one juvenile for every breeding pair, giving a total population of about 6,000 birds (Kemp 2013).

Trend justification: Recent survey data indicate that Kea have undergone substantial recent population declines. For example, density in the upland beech forest of Nelson Lakes National Park in 2011 was approximately one adult female Kea per 2,750 hectares, down from about one per 550 ha in 1998 (Adams et al, 2011; Kemp 2013): this represents an 80% decline in density over 13 years or just over one generation. There are also numerous anecdotal reports of decreases from other unmanaged areas (Orr-Walker et al. 2015). Although densities in other populations are much higher than at Nelson Lakes, it is likely that Kea in areas not subject to predator control are continuing to decline. The total population decline over the last three generations (36 years) is likely to have been more than 50% but less than 80%.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
New Zealand	extant	native		yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	marginal	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	breeding
Forest	Temperate	major	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	resident
Grassland	Temperate	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	major	breeding
Altitude	0 - 2400 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Unintentional effects (species is not the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Mustela erminea	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Trichosurus vulpecula	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Competition, Reduced reproductive success
Other options	Other threat	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Kea Nestor notabilis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/kea-nestor-notabilis on 26/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 26/12/2024.