hey it's sunday and i'm going to do a list of my favourite ANZ birds for no other reason than fuck YEAH BIRDS ARE GREAT

#1 the kererū, new zealand's thiccest boi, the bird my suburb needs signs up for motorists bc they get hammered on fermented berries. former BOTY. round/10

#2 gouldian finch, probably the most gorgeous bird on the planet. a tiny fuckin' rainbow baby. LOOK AT THEM. native to aussie, i feel it's a disservice people only know aussie birds in terms of kookaburra & ibis etc. 50/10

#3 kākāriki karaka, specifically the orange-fronted parakeet. native to nz. kākāriki means green/to be green so that's great because this birb is heckin green as all hell. green/10

#4 crimson rosellas, native to aussie and introduced to nz. a perfect palate-cleanser after you've been greened out by the previous bird. 'a noisy species'. same, rosella, same. being shushed in a library/10

#5 kōkako, native to nz. the roundest, unhappiest-looking bird you'll probably ever see. never left their goth stage. has dope wattles (blue waggly bits). once threatened, currently threatened but recovering. also, same. gerard way/10

#6 galah, native to aussie. was mind-blown to realise they're actually just a pink cockatoo. wanted a cockatoo until i found out they live for up to 80 years so it'd be around long after i shuffle this mortal coil. parrots are fucking immortal/10

#7 equal, the SPLENDID fairywren and the SUPERB fairywren, both native to aussie. hilarious that someone was just trying to come up with synonyms for 'this bird is lit'. the female fairywrens do not get to look this dope, sadly. :( inequality/10

#8 tara iti (fairy tern), native to nz. arguably one of nz's rarest breeding birds. one of my favourites actually - they're gorgeous tiny babies, but have had their breeding grounds threatened by SUVs/dogs as they nest in beach sand. protect them/10

#9 tūī, native to nz. these friends are super prolific outside my home and have one of the nicest bird calls i've ever heard! (video) plus, they have a white cravat. extravagant noble/10

#10 in the interests of furthering diplomacy between our nations, the sacred kingfisher or kotare, found in both aussie, nz and other west pacific nations. the bird that turns up to a movie marathon night overdressed. shops at forever new/10

COOL i hope you learned about some dope new birds!! donate to your local conservation initiatives to help endangered species, try not to let off fireworks etc!

& hey if you like birds, check out my chunky boi greeting cards http://www.hahaok.lol , some of them are wearing hats

nature is good and we're at a junction now where we need to protect these beautiful creatures more than anything! we can do it if we're active and fight for it! the earth has made such wonderful things and sometimes it's nice just to remind ourselves of that