This is not a sports piece. The Rugby in the title is, in fact, a Kea.
I just want to put this out there so avid All Blacks fans won't waste their time reading through an entire article completely devoid of a single shout out to Richie McCaw (or "Richie McAwesome" as my partner likes to call him).
My first meeting with a Kea took place at Willowbank in 2012.
Before that time I had no idea that they existed, or that Kiwi were endangered and nocturnal. It was a time of ornithological darkness.
When I entered Kea enclosure back then, I was amazed at how fearless the birds were. One bird in particular flew right up to me and gave me a long searching glance.
I now believe that this bird was Rugby, the patriarch of the Kea clan at Willowbank.
All the Kea at this park are the children of Rugby and his mate with the exception of Kati who was brought in injured from the wild.
Rugby is a bit of a grouchy old dad type. When one of his older kids tried to allopreen some of his wing feathers in a show of affection he thrust his foot out to the side and pushed them away.
He puffs up all his crown feathers to show visitors he's the boss and will often condescend to perch on one of their shoulder's before nipping their ear.
He will sometimes venture out of his territory and perch majestically on a fence post. When you turn to look at him he will fluff up his crown feathers again.
Two of his older children are Bill and Kiki. They both have lost all the yellow around their ceres, eyes and lower beaks.
Unlike some of their younger siblings they have achieved certain social graces such as perching on a visitor's knee or shoulder without trying to nip their ears or head.
Not so their younger siblings, one of whom still tries to land awkwardly on top of my head before losing his balance and flapping ungracefully to another perch.
Kiki will occasionally pull lightly at bits of my hair or touch the top of my head gently with the tip of her beak.
One of her younger siblings gave my hair a strong pull before nipping me right in the most sensitive part of my upper ear. The result of this was something I like to call "Hair By Kea."
In their book, "Kea, Bird of Paradox" Bond and Diamond reason that Kea are capable of destroying many types of hard materials and the fact that they don't inflict damage to humans means that they are being playful with us. I agree with this assessment although the playfulness can still sting at times.
Kea can tear holes in the strongest hiking equipment or delicately pick small seeds from your hand.
Their chicks are all born with yellow wattles so parents can feed them safely.
After young Kea chicks have fledged their fathers will usually take on feeding them while they learn to feed themselves.
I was amazed to observe Bill sitting in a tree and feeding Kati one day. I took this as a sign that she had been fully accepted into the clan even though she was an outsider. I was also later told that Bill did this with a lot of his other siblings.
I have seen Bill chase off some of the other Kea when they seemed to be ganging up or pestering visitors. He seems to be the older brother who keeps the peace.
At some point, a PhD student came to Willowbank to do research on Kea learning behaviors and she taught two of the birds to perform gestures for a food reward.
Two birds will still respond with these gestures when given a command.
If Bill is told "hold your beak" he will grab his beak with his foot.
He will not do this for everyone and obviously he's looking for a treat when he does. What was interesting to me is that I used to go into the enclosure wearing different outfits and hairstyles but Bill would always fly over, look at me for a moment and grab his beak with his foot.
From this and the behavior of other Kea around myself and the keepers I would surmise that they are capable of recognizing and remembering certain individuals.
I don't know the name of the other trained bird but it is an older male with a pink leg band who, when told "Wings," will give a little hop and flash the red color under his wings.
Sometimes if I hop a few steps without saying this word he will hop too.
It is well known that Kea have an extended adolescent period in which they explore and play.
I have seen two Kea playing where one will roll on its back and kick it's legs in the air while another pounces on it.
They will often switch roles and playfully pull at each other's feathers.
I have never seen any signs of open aggression, injuries or feather loss when they do this.
When one Kea wishes to warn off another they will usually drop their head, fluff out all their feathers and unfold their wings so that the flight feathers are spread out and touch the ground.
They will also push each other with their feet or chase the offending Kea away.
Sometimes two Kea of seemingly equal status will stare each other down while touching beaks.
They will also make nipping gestures which rarely seem to end in an actual bite.
I have seen older birds (including Rugby) allow the younger ones to take food or playthings away and it seems to be part of their learning experience.
As for human/Kea interactions I have played several games with the birds myself.
One involved picking up a small stone and tossing it. The young Kea then picked up the same stone and tossed it as well.
I have played hide and seek on the feeding stand with one juvenile where I would hide under the stand until he came over to look at me before I popped up on his eye level and he ran to the other end of the feeding stand before coming back to look at me when I hid.
I play chase with several of the younger birds where I will run towards them while they retreat and then I run away and they chase me.
I play another game where I walk my fingers over their fence perch toward them and they hunker down (very much like a puppy ) and then crawl forward toward my fingers and try to nip at them before I pull them away. Once I wasn't able to pull them away quick enough and my index finger ended up in a juvenile's beak. He did not bite down on my finger much to my relief.
Kea like poking their heads into bags, purses and baby strollers so they can steal toys and food and then play keep away from each other.
I lost my favorite lip gloss this way when one of them reached into my purse, pulled it out and tossed it to another one who ran off with it.
I chased him under a tree where he put it down. It was full of holes and beyond saving at that point.
I recently volunteered to work during Willowbank's 40th anniversary celebration and found myself entering the Kea enclosure with a scrub brush and bucket of water.
I was watched and followed.
Several birds tried to push the bucket over while another pulled at the handle and one perched on its edge and gazed at the dirty water.
My scrub brush was nipped and chased.
It was the most fun I have ever had while trying to clean something.
That same day I had to rescue a baby's hat and pick up a coke can that had been carried off by the Kea.
The best part was talking to visitors about the birds and their habits. Usually when I try to talk about birds people get antsy or look bored (yes I'm talking about my family members) but for one sweet day, people actually listened to my bird knowledge.
My three favorite birds are Bill, Kiki and Kati.
I like Bill's patience with his younger siblings and Kiki's habit of perching serenely on my shoulder and letting me rest my head against her feathers.
I admire Kati for her determination not to let a missing top beak keep her from having a good life. I often let her try to gnaw on my fingers while stroking her neck feathers and telling her how tough and strong she is.
She's developed a way of using her tongue as her upper beak and grinding up large bits of food against rocks so it is the right size for her to eat.
These are a few of my observations on Rugby's children.
I just want to put this out there so avid All Blacks fans won't waste their time reading through an entire article completely devoid of a single shout out to Richie McCaw (or "Richie McAwesome" as my partner likes to call him).
My first meeting with a Kea took place at Willowbank in 2012.
Before that time I had no idea that they existed, or that Kiwi were endangered and nocturnal. It was a time of ornithological darkness.
When I entered Kea enclosure back then, I was amazed at how fearless the birds were. One bird in particular flew right up to me and gave me a long searching glance.
I now believe that this bird was Rugby, the patriarch of the Kea clan at Willowbank.
All the Kea at this park are the children of Rugby and his mate with the exception of Kati who was brought in injured from the wild.
Rugby is a bit of a grouchy old dad type. When one of his older kids tried to allopreen some of his wing feathers in a show of affection he thrust his foot out to the side and pushed them away.
He puffs up all his crown feathers to show visitors he's the boss and will often condescend to perch on one of their shoulder's before nipping their ear.
He will sometimes venture out of his territory and perch majestically on a fence post. When you turn to look at him he will fluff up his crown feathers again.
Two of his older children are Bill and Kiki. They both have lost all the yellow around their ceres, eyes and lower beaks.
Unlike some of their younger siblings they have achieved certain social graces such as perching on a visitor's knee or shoulder without trying to nip their ears or head.
Not so their younger siblings, one of whom still tries to land awkwardly on top of my head before losing his balance and flapping ungracefully to another perch.
Kiki will occasionally pull lightly at bits of my hair or touch the top of my head gently with the tip of her beak.
One of her younger siblings gave my hair a strong pull before nipping me right in the most sensitive part of my upper ear. The result of this was something I like to call "Hair By Kea."
In their book, "Kea, Bird of Paradox" Bond and Diamond reason that Kea are capable of destroying many types of hard materials and the fact that they don't inflict damage to humans means that they are being playful with us. I agree with this assessment although the playfulness can still sting at times.
Kea can tear holes in the strongest hiking equipment or delicately pick small seeds from your hand.
Their chicks are all born with yellow wattles so parents can feed them safely.
After young Kea chicks have fledged their fathers will usually take on feeding them while they learn to feed themselves.
I was amazed to observe Bill sitting in a tree and feeding Kati one day. I took this as a sign that she had been fully accepted into the clan even though she was an outsider. I was also later told that Bill did this with a lot of his other siblings.
I have seen Bill chase off some of the other Kea when they seemed to be ganging up or pestering visitors. He seems to be the older brother who keeps the peace.
At some point, a PhD student came to Willowbank to do research on Kea learning behaviors and she taught two of the birds to perform gestures for a food reward.
Two birds will still respond with these gestures when given a command.
If Bill is told "hold your beak" he will grab his beak with his foot.
He will not do this for everyone and obviously he's looking for a treat when he does. What was interesting to me is that I used to go into the enclosure wearing different outfits and hairstyles but Bill would always fly over, look at me for a moment and grab his beak with his foot.
From this and the behavior of other Kea around myself and the keepers I would surmise that they are capable of recognizing and remembering certain individuals.
I don't know the name of the other trained bird but it is an older male with a pink leg band who, when told "Wings," will give a little hop and flash the red color under his wings.
Sometimes if I hop a few steps without saying this word he will hop too.
It is well known that Kea have an extended adolescent period in which they explore and play.
I have seen two Kea playing where one will roll on its back and kick it's legs in the air while another pounces on it.
They will often switch roles and playfully pull at each other's feathers.
I have never seen any signs of open aggression, injuries or feather loss when they do this.
When one Kea wishes to warn off another they will usually drop their head, fluff out all their feathers and unfold their wings so that the flight feathers are spread out and touch the ground.
They will also push each other with their feet or chase the offending Kea away.
Sometimes two Kea of seemingly equal status will stare each other down while touching beaks.
They will also make nipping gestures which rarely seem to end in an actual bite.
I have seen older birds (including Rugby) allow the younger ones to take food or playthings away and it seems to be part of their learning experience.
As for human/Kea interactions I have played several games with the birds myself.
One involved picking up a small stone and tossing it. The young Kea then picked up the same stone and tossed it as well.
I have played hide and seek on the feeding stand with one juvenile where I would hide under the stand until he came over to look at me before I popped up on his eye level and he ran to the other end of the feeding stand before coming back to look at me when I hid.
I play chase with several of the younger birds where I will run towards them while they retreat and then I run away and they chase me.
I play another game where I walk my fingers over their fence perch toward them and they hunker down (very much like a puppy ) and then crawl forward toward my fingers and try to nip at them before I pull them away. Once I wasn't able to pull them away quick enough and my index finger ended up in a juvenile's beak. He did not bite down on my finger much to my relief.
Kea like poking their heads into bags, purses and baby strollers so they can steal toys and food and then play keep away from each other.
I lost my favorite lip gloss this way when one of them reached into my purse, pulled it out and tossed it to another one who ran off with it.
I chased him under a tree where he put it down. It was full of holes and beyond saving at that point.
I recently volunteered to work during Willowbank's 40th anniversary celebration and found myself entering the Kea enclosure with a scrub brush and bucket of water.
I was watched and followed.
Several birds tried to push the bucket over while another pulled at the handle and one perched on its edge and gazed at the dirty water.
My scrub brush was nipped and chased.
It was the most fun I have ever had while trying to clean something.
That same day I had to rescue a baby's hat and pick up a coke can that had been carried off by the Kea.
The best part was talking to visitors about the birds and their habits. Usually when I try to talk about birds people get antsy or look bored (yes I'm talking about my family members) but for one sweet day, people actually listened to my bird knowledge.
My three favorite birds are Bill, Kiki and Kati.
I like Bill's patience with his younger siblings and Kiki's habit of perching serenely on my shoulder and letting me rest my head against her feathers.
I admire Kati for her determination not to let a missing top beak keep her from having a good life. I often let her try to gnaw on my fingers while stroking her neck feathers and telling her how tough and strong she is.
She's developed a way of using her tongue as her upper beak and grinding up large bits of food against rocks so it is the right size for her to eat.
These are a few of my observations on Rugby's children.
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| "Kea facial expressions" from Kea Bird of Paradox |
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