the kererū or new zealand pigeon isa fruit-pigeon native to new zealand. ‘kererū’ is an onomatopoeic name, based on their cooing vocalizations. these frugivorous birds feed mostly on peaches and introduced plums, but their love of fruit has given them a reputation for trouble. kererū often eat berries that have hung on the tree too long and fermented, causing them to become ‘drunken’ and act erratically.
They’re also one of only two surviving birds large enough to eat the fruit of several endemic trees that rely on birds to distribute their seeds, such as the tawa, so efforts to conserve them help biodiversity in more than one way. Government bodies and a citizen science NGO promote an annual Great Kererū Count, a brief period of time during which people in New Zealand are encouraged to report the time and place of any kererū sightings.
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