Re: [dinosaur] *Heracles inexpectatus*, giant parrot from the Miocene of NZ

David Marjanovic <[email protected]> wrote:

> At least one news report has claimed this was a predator, "possibly" feeding on smaller parrots.

In one of the news reports, one of the co-authors lends credence to
this idea of this giant parrot being a predator (at least
opportunistically):

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__newsroom.unsw.edu.au_news_science-2Dtech_giant-2Dnew-2Dzealand-2Dbird-2Dwhopping-2D-25E2-2580-2598squawkzilla-25E2-2580-2599&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=TxBWAvEV9uWmosq0Gh-xQHXKWXz_KogbBJBDq2LKc9Q&s=mBmC3QkiRoMNgK1LhScCi0VnUzG_saImKtQiY7dzNnw&e= 

“_Heracles_, as the largest parrot ever, no doubt with a massive
parrot beak that could crack wide open anything it fancied, may well
have dined on more than conventional parrot foods, perhaps even other
parrots,” Professor Mike Archer, from the UNSW Sydney Palaeontology,
Geobiology and Earth Archives  (PANGEA) Research Centre says.
“Its rarity in the deposit is something we might expect if it was
feeding higher up in the food chain,” he says, adding parrots “in
general are very resourceful birds in terms of culinary interests”.
“New Zealand keas, for example, have even developed a taste for sheep
since these were introduced by European settlers in 1773.”

Although as you say David, this is not expressly mentioned in the paper.

> Perhaps the myth originated as a misunderstanding of this part:
>
> Etymology: The nestorid Nelepsittacus from the St Bathans Fauna was named after Neleus. This much larger psittaciform is named after the Greek Heracles, who in Latin was known as Hercules, and who killed Neleus and his sons, except
> for Nestor. Genus gender masculine. The specific epithet denotes the unexpected nature of this find.
>
> Indeed, Nestor, literally "the one who comes home safe", survives to this day in New Zealand – Nestor notabilis is the kea.

The name 'Nestor' is highly redolent for the Greek mythological hero,
because he came home safe from two separate voyages - the Argonauts
and the Trojan War.  These two sagas are separated by a generation, so
Nestor was very old when he fought at Troy (alongside Heracles' sons
and grandsons) .  Alone among the Greek leaders, Nestor returned home
after a short and uneventful journey, and resumed control over his
kingdom without any trouble.  The other Greeks were not so lucky.

As mentioned above (by Mike Archer), _Nestor notabilis_ (the kea) will
feed on live sheep.  One hypothesis is that the kea formerly fed on
moa in the same way.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nzgeo.com_stories_kea-2Dthe-2Dfeisty-2Dparrot_&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=TxBWAvEV9uWmosq0Gh-xQHXKWXz_KogbBJBDq2LKc9Q&s=8H226laNPVsIsLhtcNBKTbYe4iZIgoElti9MXk_BZtE&e=