Bird of the Year

Annual competition in New Zealand

Bird of the Year

Te Manu Rongonui o Te Tau

Incumbent
Hoiho

since 16 September 2024

Term length| 1 year
Inaugural holder| Tūī
Formation| October 2005
Website| birdoftheyear.org.nz

Bird of the Year (Māori: Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau) is an annual election-based competition run by the New Zealand conservation organisation Forest & Bird to elect a New Zealand native "Bird of the Year". The competition is intended to raise awareness of the conservation threats to many endangered native birds.

It draws support from celebrities including politicians, artists, actors, and television personalities.[1] The election is a significant social media and public event in New Zealand; there are regular attempts at voter fraud, some winners (such as the short-tailed bat) have been controversial.

In 2023, a TV campaign by British-American comedian John Oliver for the pūteketeke drew international attention to the contest, leading it to win with more than 290,000 votes.[2]

## History

[edit]

Bird of the Year (BOTY) was first launched in October 2005 by Michael Szabo, editor of Forest & Bird at the time, initially as an online poll featured in Forest & Bird's first email newsletter; votes were collected by email and through the post.[3] Szabo noticed the public outcry when RNZ considered dropping bird calls from its daily Morning Report, and decided to tap into this public interest with an annual poll.[4] The first BOTY contest included 76 native bird species and received a total of 900 votes; the tūī was the winner.[5] BOTY was later championed by Forest & Bird's communications manager Helen Bain, who saw it as a "light-hearted…way of raising the profile of native birds and the threats to them".[6]

In 2014, the competition was temporarily retitled to Seabird of the Year and only seabirds were eligible.[7] In 2023 the competition was dubbed Bird of the Century (Te Manu Rongonui o te Rautau) to coincide with Forest & Bird's centennial celebrations, and for the first time included extinct birds: laughing owl, South Island snipe, huia, South Island kōkako, and bush wren.[8]

Currently voters use the Forest & Bird website to rank their top-five choices for Bird of the Year. The winner is determined using the instant-runoff voting method. The competition runs for two weeks in October to November each year, and around 70 species usually compete. Anyone can nominate themselves as a "campaign manager" for a bird, and organise social media publicity campaign. The competition is not restricted to New Zealand: anyone with a valid email address is able to cast a vote, which became critical to the 2023 landslide victory of the Pūteketeke.[2]

Because of the transferable voting system, the Bird of the Year is not necessarily the species receiving the most number-one votes. For example in BOTY 2022 (starting 17 October), seventy-one species were shortlisted as candidates, and the rock wren was the winner, because it received the most and highest vote rankings, despite getting fewer #1 votes than the second-place winner, the little penguin.[9]

Bird of the Year 2022 top 10  Bird | Number of #1 votes | Position

|
|

Pīwauwau / rock wren | 2,894 | 1st
Kororā / little penguin | 3,351 | 2nd
Kea | 1,852 | 3rd
Karure / kakaruia / Chatham Island black robin | 1,594 | 4th
Tawaki piki toka / rockhopper penguin | 1,468 | 5th
Pīwakawaka / fantail | 1,228 | 6th
Hihi / stitchbird | 1,302 | 7th
Kārearea / New Zealand falcon | 1,260 | 8th
Pūteketeke / Australasian crested grebe | 1,184 | 9th
Titipounamu / rifleman | 1,477 | 10th
Bird of the Century 2023 top 10[10] Bird | Number of #1 votes | Position

|
|

Pūteketeke / Australasian crested grebe | 290,374 | 1st
North Island Brown Kiwi | 12,904 | 2nd
Kea | 12,060 | 3rd
Kākāpō | 10,889 | 4th
Pīwakawaka / Fantail | 7,857 | 5th
Tawaki piki toka / Rockhopper penguin | 6,763 | 6th
Karure / kakaruia / Chatham Island black robin | 6,753 | 7th
Huia | 6,467 | 8th
Tūī | 6,457 | 9th
Takahē | 6,292 | 10th
Bird of the Year 2024 top 10[11] Bird | Number of #1 votes | Position

|
|

Hoiho / yellow-eyed penguin | 6,328 | 1st
Karure / kakaruia / Chatham Island black robin | 5,442 | 2nd
Kākāpō | 4,548 | 3rd
Ruru / Morepork | 4,467 | 4th
Kea | 4,206 | 5th
Pīwakawaka / Fantail | 4,205 | 6th
Takahē | 3,892 | 7th
Tawaki piki toka / Rockhopper penguin | 3,834 | 8th
Kōkako | 3,445 | 9th
Toroa / Antipodean albatross | 3,415 | 10th

## Previous winners

[edit]

Bird of the year  No.  | Portrait  | Name  | Year  | Votes  | % of vote

|
|
|
|
|

1 |  |

Tūī

2005

865[2]

2 |  |

Pīwakawaka

2006

458

3 |  |

Riroriro

2007

|  |
4 |  |

Kākāpō

2008

578

5 |  |

Kiwi

2009

1,586

6 |  |

Kākāriki

2010

6,921

7 |  |

Pūkeko

2011

1,480

8 |  |

Karearea

2012

1,261

9 |  |

Mohua

2013

2,473

10 |  |

Tara-iti

2014

|  |
11 |  |

Kūaka

2015

1,957[12]

12 |  |

Kōkako

2016

3,614

13 |  |

Kea

2017

7,311

14 |  |

Kererū

2018

5,833

15 |  |

Hoiho

2019

12,022

(4) |  |

Kākāpō

2020

10,773

16 |  |

Pekapeka

2021

7,031

17 |  |

Pīwauwau

2022

2,894

5.6

18 |  |

Pūteketeke

2023

290,374

19 |  |

Hoiho

2024

6,328

## Controversies

[edit]

* 2008: The successful campaign to elect kākāpō was accused by the takahē of accepting undeclared donations "from wealthy migratory birds living in Monaco." It was cleared by the fictional Serious Feathered Fraud Office.[13]
* 2010: The kākāriki was accused of rigging the vote. Forest & Bird confirmed these concerns in 2011, committing to improving vote security.[14]
* 2011: The emperor penguin was added to the competition for one year, when a juvenile bird, dubbed Happy Feet, was found on the Kāpiti Coast. It had made national and international headlines after being rescued.[15][16][17][failed verification]
* 2015: Two teenagers from Auckland made over 200 fraudulent votes for the kōkako.[18] They used their father's business account to make fake email addresses.[19]
* 2017: The competition suffered a further voting scandal when 112 fraudulent votes were made for the white-faced heron using internet bots from an IP address in Christchurch.[20]
* 2018: An independent scrutineer from Dragonfly Data Science was brought in to prevent further voting scandals.[21] Despite this, a third voting scandal surfaced when 310 fraudulent votes were placed for the black shag. These were traced to Australia.[22][23][24]
* 2020: 1500 votes were placed for the little spotted kiwi using fake email addresses from the same IP address, briefly pushing it to the top of the leaderboard before the fraudulent votes were discovered.[25]
* 2021: The long-tailed bat was added to the competition with mixed responses from candidates and voters, who criticised the fact that it was not in fact a bird.[26] This controversial entry ended up winning 2021 Bird of the Year.[27]
* 2022: The kākāpō, a previous two-time winner of BOTY, was barred from competing again.[28]
* 2023: Television comedian John Oliver announced on his HBO show Last Week Tonight that he was the campaign manager for the Southern crested grebe or pūteketeke. Oliver erected billboards in Wellington, Paris, Tokyo, London, Mumbai, and Manitowoc, and arranged for an aeroplane with a pūteketeke banner to fly over Ipanema Beach in Brazil. He also appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show in a pūteketeke costume. So many votes were received—over 350,000, from 195 countries—that Forest & Bird's website crashed and the results of the competition had to be delayed by two days while verification was carried out.[2][29] The previous record for verified votes was 56,733 in 2021.[30] The pūteketeke won by a landslide, receiving 290,374 votes, over 100 times those of the previous year's winner, and far more than the second-placing North Island brown kiwi with 12,904.[30] The contest was also marred by fraud, with 40,000 votes cast by one person for the eastern rockhopper penguin. A Pennsylvania voter cast 3,403 fraudulent votes, with one arriving every three seconds.[30] Forty-five of the verified votes were cast under the name "John Oliver", one of them for the fairy tern, and the rest for the pūteketeke.[29] Forest & Bird claimed to be pleased by Oliver's campaign, as it furthered the contest's basic environmental awareness purpose by encouraging international attention.[31] The organisation received over $600,000 in donations, six times the previous record, as a result of the campaign.[32]

## Celebrity endorsements

[edit]

Year  | Birds endorsed  | Celebrity/organisation

|
|

2024 | Hoiho | Helen Clark, Chris Hipkins, Jane Goodall,[33] Phil Keoghan[34]
2023 | Pūteketeke | John Oliver[35]
2022 | Wrybill | Christopher Luxon[36]
2021 | Kea | Jenny-May Clarkson,[37] Kiri Allan[38]
Royal Spoonbill | David Seymour,[citation needed] Melissa Stokes[39]
New Zealand dotterel | Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand[40]
Long-tailed Bat | Radio One 91FM[41]
2020 | South Island Kokako | Ruud Kleinpaste[42]
2018 | Tāiko/Black Petrel | Jacinda Ardern[43]
2014 | Australasian gannet | Matt Watson[7]
Brown skua | Metiria Turei[7]
Northern royal albatross | Peter Dunne[7]
Buller's shearwater[7] | Winston Peters
2013 | Mōhua | Metiria Turei[44]
New Zealand fairy tern | Hayley Holt[44]
2011 | Ruru/Morepork | Phil Goff[14]
Yellow-eyed penguin | Anton Oliver[14]
Kererū | Hinewehi Mohi[14]
Kōkako | Hollie Smith[14]
New Zealand robin | Lisa Chapell [14]
New Zealand fantail | Kate Wilkinson[14]
Ruru/Morepork | Maisey Rika[14]
New Zealand falcon | Pita Sharples[14]
Kea | Rachel Smalley[14]
Takahē | Riki Gooch[14]
Tūī | Russel Norman[14]
Kākāriki | Seth Haapu[14]
Wandering albatross | Steve Abel[14]
2010 | Weka | Don McGlashan[45]
Black stilt | Grahame Sydney[45]
Ruru/Morepork | Jerome Chandrahasen[46]
New Zealand fantail | Taika Waititi[47]
Kererū | Kiri Te Kanawa[48]
2009 | Pūkeko | Damian Christie[48]
Kākā | David Farrar[48]
Royal spoonbill | Jeremy Wells[48]
Pied stilt | Sam Hunt[48]
New Zealand fantail | Kim Hill[48]
Kererū | Kiri Te Kanawa[48]
2008 | Pied stilt | Sam Hunt[49]
Tūī | Sam Morgan[49]
Yellow-eyed penguin | Anton Oliver[49]
Kererū | Barnaby Weir[49]
Tūī | Irene van Dyk[49]
Kea | Jason Gunn[49]
Grey warbler | Graeme Hill[49]
Kiwi | John Key[49]
Weka | Anand Satyanand[49]
White-faced heron[49] | Steve Braunias
Southern royal albatross | Tui De Roy[49]
Weka | Anand Satyanand[49]
Albatross[49] | Susan Satyanand
Tūī | Petra Bagust[49]
Kea | Peter Hillary[49]
2006 | Kōtare/Sacred kingfisher | Annabel Langbein[1]
Ruru/Morepork | Caroline Church[1]
Kākāpō | Chris Carter[1]
Kōtuku | Don Brash[1]
Kākāpō | Helen Clark[1]
Kererū | Jeanette Fitzsimmons[1]
Kokako | Susan Satyanand[1]
New Zealand fantail | Lois Daish[1]
Tūī | Mark Sainsbury[1]
Kāhu | Pita Sharples[1]
Tūī | Rodney Hide[1]
Kiwi | Ruud Kleinpaste[1]
Weka | Anand Satyanand[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Voting opens in 2006 Bird of the Year". www.scoop.co.nz. 18 September 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
2. ^ a b c d Perry, Nick (14 November 2023). "Puteketeke Wins New Zealand Best Bird Contest After Push From John Oliver". Time. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
3. ^ "Voting opens for New Zealand's Bird of the Year 05". www.scoop.co.nz. 5 October 2005. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
4. ^ Wood, Caroline (25 September 2023). "Will a lost bird win?". Forest & Bird.
5. ^ "The Tui is New Zealand's Bird of the Year 2005". www.scoop.co.nz. 21 October 2005. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
6. ^ "A forceful voice for nature". Forest and Bird. 335: 7. February 2010.
7. ^ a b c d e "Seabird of the Year poll opens tomorrow". www.scoop.co.nz. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
8. ^ "Bird of the Year becomes Bird of the Century to celebrate 100 years of Forest & Bird". RNZ. 29 July 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
9. ^ "Bird of the Year: Pīwauwau/ rock wren crowned as 2022 winner". RNZ. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
10. ^ "Bird of the Century winner announced: Pūteketeke pandemonium prevails". forestandbird. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
11. ^ "Make some noise for hoiho, your Bird of the Year 2024 | Forest and Bird". www.forestandbird.org.nz. 16 September 2024.
12. ^ "Welcome to Bird Of The Year 2015 | Bird Of The Year 2015". 10 November 2015. Archived from the original on 10 November 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
13. ^ "Election result one for the birds". www.scoop.co.nz. 8 November 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Bird of the Year – polls open today". www.scoop.co.nz. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
15. ^ "Penguin Happy Feet becomes a Wellington celebrity – 150 years of news". Stuff. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
16. ^ "Underbird ahead in the polls". www.scoop.co.nz. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
17. ^ "Hope yet for Happy Feet fans". Stuff. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
18. ^ Morris, Hugh (5 February 2016). "New Zealand Bird of the Year contest rocked by voting scandal". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
19. ^ "Bird of the Year competition rocked by scandal". www.scoop.co.nz. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
20. ^ "Fraudulent votes set Bird of the Year aflutter". www.scoop.co.nz. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
21. ^ "Bird of the Year brings in independent scrutineer to prevent voter fraud". Newshub. 10 March 2018. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
22. ^ Zhou, Naaman (5 October 2018). "'Desperate for a shag': pranksters target New Zealand's bird of the year poll". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
23. ^ "Australian tampers with Bird of the Year competition". RNZ. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
24. ^ "Forest and Bird's Bird of the Year voting hacked – again". Stuff. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
25. ^ Sadler, Rachel. "Bird of the Year's fraudulent votes make international headlines". Newshub. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
26. ^ "Native Bats Cause A Flap Entering Bird Of The Year Competition". Scoop. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
27. ^ TVNZ Breakfast [@Breakfaston1] (31 October 2021). "The pekapeka-tou-roa/long-tailed bat has taken home the crown of New Zealand's 2021 Bird of the Year! @Forest_and_Bird https://t.co/UHGHz183ck" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021 - via Twitter.
28. ^ "Kākāpō too successful for Bird of the Year contention". RNZ. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
29. ^ a b "Pūteketeke wins Bird of the Century title". Star News. 15 November 2023.
30. ^ a b c Bevan, Darren; Hewett, William (15 November 2023). "Pūteketeke wins Bird of the Century after John Oliver's campaign". Newshub. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
31. ^ Paul, Maria Luisa. "John Oliver interfered in an election — for 'Bird of the Year'". Washington Post. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
32. ^ "John Oliver thanks the pūteketeke after Bird of the Century win". RNZ. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
33. ^ "Bird of the Year: Hoiho yellow-eyed penguin named 2024 winner". RNZ. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
34. ^ Graham-McLay, Charlotte (15 September 2024). "A shy penguin wins New Zealand's bird election after campaign filled with memes and tattoos". AP News. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
35. ^ Solomon, Serena (7 November 2023). "John Oliver backs 'weird, puking' pūteketeke as he takes New Zealand's bird of century poll global". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
36. ^ "National Party leader Christopher Luxon makes shock Bird of the Year announcement". Newshub. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022.
37. ^ "Bird of the Year: Kea | By Breakfast | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
38. ^ Minister of Conservation Kiri Allan backing Kea for NZ Bird of The Year | By Kiri Allan - Labour MP | Facebook, retrieved 11 August 2022
39. ^ "Bird of the Year: Spoonbill | By Breakfast | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
40. ^ "Make it a shore thing: Bird of the Year 2021 - Green Party". www.voxy.co.nz.
41. ^ The Science Breathas [@BreathaScience] (18 October 2021). "It's that time of year again where everyone comes out and fights about which bird should be crowned bird of the year. Well the boys at Breatha Science are throwing their weight behind one of New Zealand's only Mammals - The long-tailed bat! Voting has opened, so go vote! https://t.co/7i9HhEAxcg" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021 - via Twitter.
42. ^ South Island Kōkako for Bird of the Year [@VoteSIKokako] (12 October 2020). "South Island Kōkako is proud to be supported (and seen!) by Ruud Kleinpaste, a.k.a. The Bug Man: "So this year, I'm going to ask you to vote for hope... Hope for our biodiversity, hope for our planet, and hope that the South Island Kōkako is still with us." #VoteSIK #boty2020 https://t.co/rIETRux3pX" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021 - via Twitter.
43. ^ "'The bogan of the birds' – Jacinda Ardern reveals her choice for Bird of the Year". TVNZ.
44. ^ a b "Mohua crowned Bird of the Year". www.scoop.co.nz. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
45. ^ a b "Kakariki scoops Forest & Bird's Bird of the Year". www.scoop.co.nz. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
46. ^ "Less talk, Vote Morepork". www.scoop.co.nz. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
47. ^ "Forest & Bird's Bird of the Year poll opens". www.scoop.co.nz. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
48. ^ a b c d e f g "Forest & Bird's Bird of the Year Poll opens". www.scoop.co.nz. 11 September 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
49. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "High-flying poll opens". www.scoop.co.nz. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Birds of New Zealand

Common
birds|

* Bellbird (korimako)
* Black-billed gull (tarāpuka)
* Brown creeper (pipipi)
* Brown teal (pāteke)
* Buff-banded rail (moho-pererū)
* Dabchick (weweia)
* Double-banded plover (pohowera)
* New Zealand falcon (kārearea)
* Fantail (pīwakawaka)
* Grey warbler (riroriro)
* Grey-faced petrel (ōi)
* Sacred kingfisher (kōtare)
* Long-tailed cuckoo (koekoeā)
* Kererū
* Pipit (pīhoihoi)
* New Zealand dotterel (tūturiwhatu)
* South Island robin
* North Island robin
* New Zealand scaup (pāpango)
* Paradise shelduck (pūtangitangi)
* Pūkeko
* Rifleman (tītipounamu)
* New Zealand rock wren (pīwauwau)
* Shining cuckoo (pīpīwharauroa)
* Silvereye (tauhou)
* South Island oystercatcher (tōrea)
* Spotted shag (pārekareka)
* Tomtit (miromiro)
* Tūī
* Variable oystercatcher (tōrea pango)
* White-fronted tern (tara)
* Whitehead (pōpokotea)
* Wrybill (ngutuparore)

Flightless
birds|

* Great spotted kiwi (roroa)
* Little spotted kiwi (kiwi pukupuku)
* North Island brown kiwi (roroa)
* Okarito kiwi (rowi)
* Southern brown kiwi (tokoeka)
* Yellow-eyed penguin (hoiho)
* Kākāpō
* South Island takahē
* Fiordland penguin (tawaki)
* Weka
* Blue penguin (kororā)

Endangered
endemic birds
(flying)|

* Black-fronted tern (tarapiroe)
* Black stilt (kakī)
* Blue duck (whio)
* Fernbird (mātātā)
* Foveaux shag
* Kākā
* Kea
* North Island kōkako
* South Island kōkako
* New Zealand fairy tern (tara-iti)
* New Zealand king shag (kawau tūī)
* New Zealand storm petrel (takahikare)
* Northern royal albatross
* Otago shag (Matapo)
* Orange-fronted parakeet (kākāriki karaka)
* Red-billed gull (tarāpunga)
* North Island saddleback (tīeke)
* South Island saddleback (tīeke)
* Shore plover (tūturuatu)
* Stitchbird (hihi)
* Yellowhead (mōhua)

Chatham Islands
birds|

* Black robin (karure)
* Chatham albatross (toroa)
* Chatham gerygone
* Chatham oystercatcher (tōrea)
* Chatham parakeet
* Chatham petrel (ranguru)
* Chatham pigeon (parea)
* Chatham shag (papua)
* Chatham snipe
* Magenta petrel (tāiko)
* Pitt shag (kawau o rangihaute)

Subantarctic islands
birds|

* Antipodean albatross (Toroa)
* Auckland rail
* Auckland shag
* Auckland teal (tētē kākāriki)
* Antipodes parakeet
* Bounty shag
* Campbell albatross
* Campbell shag
* Campbell teal
* Erect-crested penguin (tawaki nana hī)
* Reischek's parakeet
* Snares snipe
* Snares penguin (pokotiwha)
* Subantarctic snipe (tutukiwi)

Extinct
birds|

* South Island piopio (piopio)
* New Zealand bittern (kaoriki)
* New Zealand quail (koreke)
* Huia
* Haast's eagle
* Moa
* North Island adzebill
* South Island adzebill
* Auckland Island merganser (rakiraki maungahuka)
* Chatham Island merganser
* Bushwren (mātuhituhi)
* Long-billed wren
* South Island stout-legged wren
* North Island stout-legged wren
* Lyall's wren
* Chatham kākā
* Laughing owl (whēkau)
* Chatham penguin
* Waitaha penguin
* Eyles' harrier (kērangi)
* North Island little spotted kiwi
* North Island snipe
* South Island snipe
* Forbes's snipe
* Snipe-rail
* Imber's petrel
* Scarlett's shearwater (ōiruki)
* North Island takahē (moho)
* New Zealand goose
* Finsch's duck (manutahora)
* New Zealand owlet-nightjar (ruru hinapō)
* New Zealand musk duck
* New Zealand swan (poūwa)

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