Aves Appreciation Rubs off on Sydney Writer

It seems like “every single” New Zealander has some kind of “bird madness”, and Sydney writer Rebecca Shaw has now determined that she too is “infected”, “and loving it”. Shaw reports on her new-found appreciation in an opinion piece published by The Guardian.

“During a visit to the Wellington Zoo, I had a realisation about myself,” Shaw writes. “The animal I was personally most excited to see, the one that made me gasp out loud upon entering its habitat? The one I made sure to return to before leaving?

“It was a kea! They are some of the smartest birds in the world and when they spread their wings they reveal a bright orange underside, as one showed me when it flew over my head, making me gasp with joy.

“Looking up at it, my mouth agape, I realised – the New Zealanders have finally bloody done it. They’ve successfully turned me into one of them.”

Original article by Rebecca Shaw, The Guardian, March 16, 2023.