New Zealanders pick robin brought back from near-extinction as Bird of the Year

Published on 22/09/2026 - 10:55 GMT+2 The critically endangered black robin has been voted New Zealand’s Bird of the Year, with a record 105,000 people taking part. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT The birds are native to the remote Chatham Islands, around 800 km east of New Zealand’s South Island. Its story is a remarkable conservation success. In 1980, only five black robins remained, including just one breeding female. The population has since recovered to around 350. The black robin received more than 26,000 votes, beating the kakapo into second place and the kārearea falcon into third. The annual contest is organised by conservation group Forest & Bird and is designed to raise awareness of New Zealand’s native species and the threats they face. The competition began as a simple email poll in 2005 but has since grown into a major annual event, complete with campaign teams, memes and social-media battles. The group campaigning for the black robin is now seeking to create a third habitat for the species to help strengthen and expand its population. No relation to the European Robin Despite its name, the black robin is not closely related to the familiar European robin found across Britain and much of Europe. The two also look very different: adult black robins are almost entirely black, while European robins are brown with a distinctive orange-red breast. According to New Zealand Birds Online, the black robin belongs to the Australasian robin family and is found only on the Chatham Islands. It is not closely related to the European robin, which the RSPB says as part of the Old World flycatcher family. Russian interference The competition has previously been at the centre of controversy. In 2019, there were accusations of Russian interference after hundreds of votes were registered from IP addresses in Russia. Organisers determined that most of the votes were from legitimate bird lovers and said they did not affect the victory of the hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin. It later won for a second time in 2024. In 2023, the pūteketeke, or Australasian crested grebe won the title after receiving global support from comedian and Last Week Tonight presenter John Oliver, who urged his viewers to vote for the lake-dwelling bird. Additional sources • AFP, AP