New Zealanders pick endangered black robin as Bird of the Year

A record number of New Zealanders turned out at the polls this month, not for national elections but to vote for their Bird of the Year, the critically endangered black robin.

The diminutive native lives on the remote Chatham Islands, 800 kilometres off the South Island's east coast. In 1980, only five of the birds remained, including a single breeding female. Now, there are about 350. The black robin topped the pecking order ahead of the famed flightless parrot, the kakapo, and the native karearea falcon, which came in second and third. The annual Bird of the Year competition is run by independent conservation organisation Forest and Bird.