Skip to main content

Story: 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.

Using this item

Department of Conservation

Reference: 10046712

by Peter Morrison

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

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

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 1 March 2009, updated 1 August 2023.