TRIAL FOR KEEPERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 December 1940, Page 9

TRIAL FOR KEEPERS

NEW ZEALND PARROTS DESTRUCTIVE. Of the London Zoo birds with destructive beaks —and there are quite a number—perhaps the worst offenders are the three New Zealand keas, who came to England last year. Though they have only short, curved beaks, they do an incredible amount of damage. Sometimes they chew their cagewires until the whole area has to be rewired. Sometimes they batter their nesting-boxes until the woodwork becomes unserviceable. More recently the keas attacked the door leading to their sleeping-quarters, and played such havoc with the woodwork there that they could no longer be shut in at night. Now the keepers have thought of a way out of their difficulties. In the keas’ cage they have placed several tree-stumps, well furnished with bark. Of course, the keas don’t know it, but these tree-stumps have been provided specially for them to ruin. And ruin them they do! Every now and then the birds make a “dead set” at one of the stumps and peck away at it till they have stripped off all the bark and damaged much of the wood behind. Then they foregather on one of their' perches and contemplate their “beakwork” —with evident satisfaction. As a rule they are not left long to enjoy their triumph, for the keepers remove the damaged stump and replace it with a new one!