Kererū: Pigeons That Get Tipsy

Kererū, green-blue pigeons native to New Zealand, like to sun themselves after dining on fruit. But in warm summer months, the bird’s sunbathing has a surprising side-effect. A part of their digestive system called the crop stores their latest snack – where it begins to ferment, eventually making the pigeons drunk! The rotund creatures often get so tipsy that they fall out of trees, prompting compassionate people to deliver them to local bird rescues and let them sober up.

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Kererū: Pigeons That Get Tipsy

Written by Jonathan Feakins

This is BirdNote.

[Ambi and background Kererū calls]

Kererū, green-blue pigeons native to New Zealand, like to sun themselves after a good meal.

[Kererū song]

Kererū have a distinct preference for fruit. In fact, many local trees depend on these pigeons; they’re the only birds left that can both ingest and pass the seeds from the fruits of many native trees.

[Kererū song]

But in warm summer months, the bird’s sunbathing has a surprising side-effect. A part of their digestive system called the crop stores their latest snack – where it begins to ferment.

The birds, in essence, brew their very own batch of boutique throat wine.

[Kererū song]

The rotund creatures often get so tipsy that they fall out of trees, prompting compassionate kiwis — New Zealanders, not the birds — to deliver them to local bird rescues and let them sober up.

One manager said, "It was ridiculous … people were bringing armfuls of these flaming drunk pigeons."

[Kererū wing noise]

In 2018, the citizens of New Zealand voted the kererū as Bird of the Year. Perhaps conservation organization Forest & Bird described the species best: “that absolute unit, the roundest boi, the devourer of fruit, the whooshiest of whooshes.”

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Kererū (New Zealand Pigeon) ML203919811 recorded by Josep del Hoyo, and Kererū (New Zealand Pigeon) ML3944 recorded by William V. Ward.
Kererū (New Zealand Pigeon) Xeno Canto 293310 recorded by Dan Lane.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote December 2023
Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# kereru-01-2023-12-04 kereru-01

Reference:
https://www.newsweek.com/video-drunk-pigeon-falls-trees-fermented-fruit…