The piwauwau rock wren, a diminutive mountain-dwelling underdog, has come out on top in New Zealand’s annual bird of the year competition after a hard-fought campaign again marked by controversy.
The rare alpine species — which weighs less than 20g, about as much as a MallowPuff biscuit — beat out a number of higher-profile and charismatic competitors.
“Unless you’d spent some time in the mountains, you’d probably never heard of a rock wren until two weeks ago,” said Stephen Day, who led a campaign for the piwauwau. “We’re so happy piwauwau are finally having their time in the spotlight.”
The mountainous species captured a narrow win over the korora penguin, which received more No. 1 votes, but lost out on the transferable vote system.
The competition is no stranger to controversy. Last year, organizers caused outcry by allowing a native bat to enter — and win. This year, they courted controversy again by barring the kakapo — the world’s fattest parrot — because it had won too many times (twice in 14 years).
The competition attracts headlines and political endorsements across New Zealand.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon made a formal announcement on Sunday endorsing the wrybill, a river bird believed to have the world’s only asymmetrical beak — it curves to the right.
Green Party lawmaker Chloe Swarbrick ran a campaign for the korora, and greeted news of the penguin’s narrow loss by expressing “heartbreak” at the “hard-fought” outcome.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern did not endorse a bird this year but, when questioned by reporters about the outcome, said she was loyal to the black petrel, which she has previously described as “the bogan of the birds.”
The election is run by the conservation organization Forest and Bird to raise awareness of New Zealand’s native bird life. Its chief executive, Nicola Toki, said a vote for piwauwau was “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,” she said.
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