Plentiful poo

The kererū is a critically important species for the New Zealand forest! These birds primarily eat buds, flowers and fruit which they clamber in vines, shrubs, and trees to find. When there is low availability of fruit, kererū will eat leaves or feed on plants such as clover.

Thanks to their size, the kererū eats a lot of large fruit that smaller birds cannot eat – such as clusters of red berries from the pūriri tree. Their large mouth means the seeds of the fruit stay whole as they pass through the digestive system and are distributed throughout the forest when they poo. This helps regenerate their food sources! Other large, seeded fruit that kererū feed on in the wild include karaka, miro, tawa, and taraire.

Kererū are instrumental to transferring these seeds around New Zealand. They can fly very long distances, and help to transfer seeds between native forests that are spaced apart or fragmented. Kererū can travel up to 70km in a day, normally to reach seasonal food sources, although they are less likely to do so if food is readily available nearby.

Drunk as a skunk? Kererū have a reputation for being the ‘drunkest bird in New Zealand’ as they can gorge themselves on fermented fruits (which contain alcohol) and this can make them momentarily clumsy.

Kererū roost

These precious manu have been recorded to breed in any month of the year, but they most commonly will lay eggs from September to April. They’ll lay a single egg in a nest, with both parents helping to incubate it. The female incubates from late afternoon until mid-morning, before swapping with the male.

When food sources are plentiful, breeding pairs have been observed to have two overlapping nesting attempts, tending to one nest containing an egg that is incubated and another nest housing a larger chick.

Kererū feed their young a substance called ‘pigeon milk’ – a substance from a pouch in their neck called the crop which stores food before digestion. This ‘milk’ helps the chick to grow and is made from a mix of protein-rich secretions from the walls of the crop and fruit pulp.

At the Zoo

Found in Te Wao Nui a Tāne / The Forest habitat in Te Wao Nui, the kererū live in the forest canopy mixed with a range of other birds, just as they would in the wild.

The kererū diet is carefully planned to resemble their natural diet as closely as possible.

In the Wild

Origin: New Zealand

Habitat: Forest

Conservation status: IUCN – Least Concern

Kererū are at risk from introduced mammalian predators, however strong conservation efforts have seen the population numbers continue to grow. Rats, stoats, cats, and possums all eat kererū eggs and chicks, and possums compete for resources such as food.

How you can help

Kererū in urban areas are at risk of injury by flying into windows. There are special window stickers/decals available to attach to windows at your house that kererū can see but humans can’t, which help them avoid any crashes! Head to projectkereru.org.nz to find out more.

You can also plant some trees for fruit-loving kererū at your place, such as lucerne, kowhai, miro, titoki, karaka, taraire, tawa, and pigeonwood.