The Kea Conservation Trust says the birds may be declining in number.
Keas were counted at 90 sites in Nelson Lakes National Park, Arthur's Pass and the Borland Range in Fiordland last month.
Compared to data collected by DoC in the 1990s, trust chair Tamsin Orr-Walker says there seems to be a major decline in their numbers and the birds may be under much more serious threat than first thought.
Threats include predators such as possums, and lead and 1080 poison.
