It's official - the pīwauwau rock wren has taken the title of Bird of the Year 2022.
Following two weeks of voting and some creative campaigns, Forest & Bird says the pīwauwau's win proves Kiwis "love an underbird".
The pīwauwau received 2,894 votes, 450 fewer than the kororā. Forest & Bird says once the transferable votes were applied, the pīwauwau "rocked the top spot".
Chief executive Nicola Toki said Kiwis got to know some of the less-known birds in this year's election and the pīwauwau's win is a celebration of how "awesome they are".
"A vote for pīwauwau is a vote for climate action. As Aotearoa's only true alpine bird, these tiny wrens are already feeling the impacts of warmer temperatures, which allow predators like rats and stoats to climb higher and invade their mountaintop homes."
Stephen Day, Lauren Schaer and those at Herenga ā Nuku led the pīwauwau's campaign. Day said they're stoked to the underbird is "finally having their time in the spotlight".
"Unless you'd spent some time in the mountains, you'd probably never heard of a rock wren until two weeks ago. It's a true underbird."
The pīwauwau is described as having a stubby tail and long legs, weighing about the same as a mallowpuff with feet resembling snowshoes.
The pīwauwau live above the bush line in the Southern Alps, bobbing and hopping between rocks instead of flying.
The small olive-coloured bird is classified as nationally endangered and is facing threats from predators like stoats, mice and rats which raid their nests.
The top 10 finishers (with number 1 vote count in brackets)
- Pīwauwau / rock wren (2894)
- Kororā / little penguin (3351)
- Kea (1852)
- Karure / kakaruia / Chatham Island black robin (1594)
- Tawaki piki toka / rockhopper penguin (1468)
- Pīwakawaka / fantail (1228)
- Hihi / stitchbird (1302)
- Kārearea / New Zealand falcon (1260)
- Pūteketeke / Australasian crested grebe (1184)
- Titipounamu / rifleman (1477)
Voting closed at 5pm on Sunday with 51,856 verified votes cast. Bird of the Year spokesperson Ellen Rykers said it's been "awesome" to see the enthusiasm.
"We're stoked to see our hidden gem underbirds got some recognition! The underbirds received the biggest proportional increase in number one votes compared to 2021."
The drama in Bird of the Year 2022 came months before voting opened when 2021's winner pekapeka took a bow after a "very long year" of completing Bird of the Year duties.
