Black Robin Wins New Zealand Bird of the Year 2026

The black robin, a species once reduced to just five birds, has been crowned New Zealand's Bird of the Year 2026 in a competition that saw record domestic voter turnout. The win highlights the bird's remarkable recovery from the brink of extinction while underscoring ongoing conservation challenges. The annual contest, organized by the conservation group Forest and Bird, attracted a record 105,000 validated votes, with approximately 88 percent cast from within New Zealand. This marked the highest level of domestic participation in the competition's 20-year history. The black robin, known as karure in Māori, received more than 26,000 votes, securing its first-ever victory after previously finishing in the top five. The species is found only in lowland coastal forests on two pest-free nature reserves in the remote Chatham Islands, about 800 kilometers east of mainland New Zealand. Its population has recovered from a low of five birds in the 1980s, including a single fertile female named Old Blue, to approximately 350 adult birds today. This recovery followed a pioneering breeding program that used other bird species to foster the robins' eggs.