Download

A Kea (Nestor notabilis) is recorded as a fossil from the late Pleistocene of the North Island of New Zealand. Morphological and morphometric differences in osteology between the Kea and the Kaka (Nestor meridionalis) are described and discussed. Fossil and recent osteological specimens of the Kea and South Island Kaka have been confused in the past, resulting in Kea being identified as Kaka in collections and published lists. A fossil recorded as Nestor n. sp. in the Canterbury Museum is shown to be a South Island Kaka.