Adrian in a comment on my previous post asked "Have you still got those Parakeet type birds that trash cars...if so rent a car and get some pictures." The answer is in the affirmative. The bird is the Kea. We don't have them in the North Island but on the West Coast of the South Island they are plentiful enough even though they are an endangered species. The problem with the Kea is that it is a loved and hated creature. (Just like the rest of us then.) Loved because it is an endearing and comical figure which is curious and unafraid and 'befriends' tourists. Hated because it has been known to kill even healthy sheep and has a rather unendearing habit of removing the rubber from around car windscreens and generally causing damage to anything that can be pulled off a car.
The following picture was, I think, taken by the Homer Tunnel on the road from Te Anau to Milford Sound in South Island in early 2007.
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