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Kōrero: Large forest birds

Kererū chick

Image
Kererū chick

This three-week-old chick is on Kāpiti Island. Like other pigeons and doves, both parents feed the chick crop milk initially. This nutritious yellowish substance, with a texture like cottage cheese, is produced in the cells lining the crop – a pouch in the upper digestive tract. Once the chick is a few weeks old, the parents start feeding it regurgitated fruit.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Department of Conservation

Reference: 10046712

by Peter Morrison

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Gerard Hutching, Large forest birds – Pigeons – kererū and parea, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/10574/kereru-chick (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Gerard Hutching, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009, updated 1 August 2023.