New Zealand Pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae)
Kereru, Kukupa, Parea

Size: 51 cm, 650 gm.

Description: A very large pigeon. Head, throat and back mostly metallic green with purple/bronze sheen in direct light. Breast, belly and legs white. Eye and feet dark red, bill red with orange tip. Noisy, reckless flight.

Habitat: Native bush, gardens, parks any stand of forest in a farming area. Always in lowland areas.

Status: Protected threatened endemic. Once hunted as a food source, numbers have been increasing since their protection in 1921.

Breeding: Dependent on food supplies but generally October to April.

Where to photograph: They can be found all over New Zealand, but in Dunedin the best spots are; the botanical gardens, the end of Cannington Road and the green belt.

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