Bruce is a kea with just half a beak

Ximena Nelson

In 2013, things were looking bleak for a malnourished, undersized parrot who was missing half his beak and struggling to survive in the wilds of Arthur’s Pass in New Zealand’s South Island.

Then, says Ximena Nelson at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, one of her students came across the struggling kea ( Nestor notabilis ). The bird had lost the upper part of its beak, probably due to trauma. Because the kea is classified as an endangered species, the student decided to bring him into captivity.

Little did anyone know that this was a decision that would change the bird’s life and thrust greatness upon him.

The carers at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch, New Zealand, named the bird Kati, assuming that such a small parrot must have been a female. That assumption also made sense because it was the top half of the beak that the bird lacked. The upper beak is huge in male kea, and used for digging.…