From Monday 15 September to Sunday 28 September, New Zealanders will once again flock online to vote for their favourite native birds, with the 2025 champion announced on Monday 29 September.
This year, the voting system has had a little makeover to make things even more egg-citing. Voters can still back up to five manu, but this time there’s no need to rank them. Each bird will receive the same number of points, so the winner will be the bird that racks up the most individual votes.
“Bird of the Year has always been more than a popularity contest,” says Forest & Bird chief executive Nicola Toki. “It sparks thousands of conversations about conservation and shines a spotlight on endangered manu – especially our lesser-known, but just as loveable ‘underbirds’. I encourage everyone to think about which birds are special to them and cast their vote.”
From humble beginnings as a 2005 newsletter poll (won by the tūī), Bird of the Year has grown into a cultural phenomenon. Along the way it has produced viral memes, international headlines, a bit of vote-rigging scandal, and even controversy when the pekapeka-tou-roa long-tailed bat swooped to victory. In 2023, comedian John Oliver took the competition global, delivering a landslide win for the pūteketeke Australasian crested grebe.
To celebrate two decades of ruffled feathers, this year’s contest comes with some extras:
- A book that captures the manu and the mayhem: Bird of the Year: Twenty years of ruffled feathers.
- Birdle NZ – a daily puzzle game inspired by Wordle.
- Bird of the Year brick kits – pīwakawaka, kākāpō, pekapeka and tūī with genuine LEGO parts, designed by Mike Murray (@bricks.by.mike_).
- A workplace kit – helping staffrooms and offices join the fun.
- School vote – a way to make voting more accessible to tamariki without their own email addresses. (School votes will be counted like special votes and could swing the election at the last minute.)
- Metalbird scavenger hunt – popping up in Auckland’s Ponsonby.
- Products with a donation to our mahi – with a new Metalbird sculpture of the winning bird to come.
With four in five native land birds at risk or threatened with extinction, the fun hides a serious message:
Every vote helps raise awareness of the birds that need our protection most – from household names like the kākāpō, to underbirds that rarely get their moment in the spotlight.
The big question now: who will be crowned the 20th Bird of the Year?