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Black Robin Wins 2026 New Zealand Bird of the Year

By Drooid · Sep 20, 2026, 11:18 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Rekohu Battler Wins

A battler from Rekohu (Chatham Islands) won New Zealand Bird of the Year election.
A record 105,000 New Zealand voted at birdoftheyear.org.nz, the highest turnout to date.
Earlier, Tree Birds led with 22.6% of votes (Forestandbird, 18 Sept), though the black robin later moved into the lead.
Organisers urged the public to “show up for nature” on 7 November as leaders’ decisions affect native species.

Summary

Black Robin Tops Race

Black robin (karure) has taken the lead in the 2026 Bird of the Year race, overtaking earlier leaders such as Tree Birds.
In 1980 only five black robins survived; today about 300 exist, all descended from Old Blue and Old Yellow.
The recovery is hailed as one of New Zealand most successful conservation programmes.
Forest & Bird’s Rebecca Hatch said new species on the podium would highlight ongoing restoration efforts.

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Rekohu Battler Wins

A battler from Rekohu (Chatham Islands) won New Zealand Bird of the Year election.
A record 105,000 New Zealand voted at birdoftheyear.org.nz, the highest turnout to date.
Earlier, Tree Birds led with 22.6% of votes (Forestandbird, 18 Sept), though the black robin later moved into the lead.
Organisers urged the public to “show up for nature” on 7 November as leaders’ decisions affect native species.

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