<\/p>\n
\nAfter an early lead, the k\u0101rearea New Zealand falcon kept its talons firmly on the top spot.
\nPhoto: Supplied \/ Department of Conservation\n<\/p>\n
The k\u0101rearea New Zealand falcon has taken out the top spot in the 20th anniversary Bird of the Year competition.<\/p>\n
The k\u0101rearea is a high-speed hunter which is at risk from habitat loss and predation.<\/p>\n
“It’s been a privilege to champion such a remarkable manu, and we’ve loved seeing the public get behind it,” said Caitlin Pieta from Auto Mossa, who managed the k\u0101rearea’s campaign.<\/p>\n
Forest & Bird said after an early lead the falcon kept its talons firmly on the top spot.<\/p>\n
“They are fierce, they are the spitfire of the bird world… One of our handful of avian predators ,” Forest & Bird chief executive Nicola Toki said.<\/p>\n
“You might be familiar with them as the bird on our $20 note.”<\/p>\n
While they are fierce, they are also vulnerable with only 5000 to 8000 of them left.<\/p>\n
The 2025 win puts the k\u0101rearea among a group of winners that have secured multiple titles over the past two decades. Hoiho won in 2019 and 2024, and k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d took home the crown in 2008 and 2020.<\/p>\n
The falcon previously won in 2012.<\/p>\n
“Bird of the Year has grown from a simple email poll in 2005 to a hotly contested cultural moment for Aotearoa,” said Forest & Bird chief executive Nicola Toki.<\/p>\n
Forest & Bird said this year had seen record engagement, with more than 75,000 voters flocking online to back their favourite native manu.<\/p>\n
“Every one of the 73 birds in the running had a volunteer campaign manager this year, creating a flood of online noise – from hand-drawn posters to reels and memes that threatened to take over the internet,” it said.<\/p>\n
“With everyone from the Reserve Bank to a clutch of Hobbit actors jumping in to back their favourites online, this year’s election once again showed how deeply New Zealanders connect with our manu.”<\/p>\n
Forest & Bird said that while the competition was always full of humour and creativity, the bigger picture was conservation.<\/p>\n
“Behind the memes and mayhem is a serious message. This year’s top 10 manu matches the statistics exactly – 80 percent of them are in trouble. Two (k\u0101k\u0101p\u014d and karure black robin) are nationally critical, each with fewer than 300 individuals remaining,” said Toki.<\/p>\n
“Habitat destruction, climate change and introduced predators continue to push many species towards extinction – but public awareness can be powerful,” she said.<\/p>\n
“People fall in love with these birds – and once they know their stories, they care, they advocate and they act.”<\/p>\n
As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations, songwriter Troy Kingi will also compose a track for the k\u0101rearea as the first instalment of Waiata Manu, a new project creating original waiata for Bird of the Year winners.<\/p>\n
A new book, Bird of the Year: Twenty years of ruffled feathers, will trace the scandals and triumphs of the contest.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Forest & Bird said the the launch of the Birdle NZ game, which had quickly gained a cult following, would continue to entertain fans worldwide on a daily basis now the Bird of the Year campaign was over.<\/p>\n