Diet

Kerer? are very important to their habitat. It is the only bird species capable of swallowing the large fruit of trees such as tawa, taraire and karaka. Kerer? briefly store these fruit in their crops (a pouch below the throat), and the seed, stripped of the nutritious flesh, eventually passes through the gut, including the muscular gizzard, undamaged. As a result, and because Kereru occasionally fly several kilometres between food sources, the species is very important for seed dispersal. Sometimes well-ripened and fermenting fruit eaten by kerer? causes them to become intoxicated, resulting in them ending up on the ground unable to fly. This outcome makes them easy prey for predators and hunters.

Gardens are especially valuable to kerer?, as there they can supplement their native diet with exotic fruits, flowers, and foliage. Species such as cherries and guava are special favourites. A note of caution though: just as kerer? disperse the seeds of native trees, they also spread exotic species, and people should consider this when planting fruit trees near patches of native bush. (See the Planting section)