US talk show host John Oliver has weighed in on a very important New Zealand matter.
US talk show host John Oliver has weighed in on a very important New Zealand matter.
Unless you’ve been doing a social media cleanse or you’re not a fan of our feathered friends, you’ll have heard of the controversy behind this year’s Bird of the Centurycompetition.
From celebrity takes to offensive blunders — and a billboard in Tokyo — this century’s favourite fowl is causing quite the stir, so much so that the votes have already made it to six digits.
The contest, which hasn’t been without its scandals in past years, has taken flight thanks to television treasures, marketing campaigns and some excellent bird puns being thrown into the social media squabble — rivalling the anticipation and drama of our very own general election a few weeks ago.
Here is everything you need to know about the war of the warblers.
US talk show host John Oliver has weighed in on a very important New Zealand matter.
Talk show host John Oliver made headlines this week when he weighed in on the very important New Zealand matter of which bird is best.
While hosting Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, the host not only made time in his busy show to explain what the competition is, he also campaigned for his bird of choice: the pūteketeke.
Confessing he would like his chosen bird to have “the biggest landslide in the history of the competition”, he first explained to viewers why New Zealand was holding the election in the first place.
“This is a big deal: New Zealanders love birds,” he exclaimed. “They’re famously known as Kiwis after the kiwi bird and birds feature prominently on their currency, which is frankly much better than what US bills have on them.”
He concluded his campaign for the bird by jokingly adding: “After all, this is what democracy is all about: America interfering in foreign elections.”
John Oliver appears on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' dressed as a pūteketeke to promote his choice of bird. Photo / via video
Oliver accidentally offends New Zealand
In the wake of his devoted campaigning in this year’s competition, Oliver quickly went from our biggest supporter to public enemy after he admitted to offending New Zealand in an unfortunate blunder while live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Appearing on Fallon’s show dressed as a giant bird, Oliver was campaigning for the pūteketeke when he slipped up live on air and in his own words accidentally offended the entire nation.
“On our show on Sunday, we entered the Australian ... uh, sorry. Not Australia. New Zealand. I could not have made a more offensive mistake than that,” Oliver mistakenly told Fallon as millions around the US watched on.
The crowd then burst out laughing before Oliver attempted to brush the cheeky mistake under the rug.
“Although, potato, potato [potahto], am I right?”
John Oliver launched the campaign on his show with a massive animatronic pūteketeke.
Behind the scenes of Oliver’s endorsement
While it is great that John Oliver has managed to raise public awareness of the much-loved ornithological contest, many have been left scratching their heads as to why the American TV host got involved in the first place.
Speaking to Ellen Rykers from Forest & Bird, The NZ Herald did some digging on the comedian’s intentions behind the pūteketeke endorsement and his decision to back the bird on Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.
“We’re not sure how the show came across Bird of the Year, but my guess is that it would’ve entered their radar back in 2021 when the pekapeka won and everyone had a meltdown about a bat winning Bird of the Year,” said Rykers.
“Similarly I can’t say for sure why they got involved, but John Oliver does have a reputation for liking quirky New Zealand stories, and this is definitely one of those.”
Oliver reached out to organisers earlier this year and asked whether he could campaign for the bird. After being given the green light, he took his vote to the global stage.
“Anyone can campaign for a bird. That seemed like a vulnerability in their system that somebody could exploit. And we could be that somebody, so we are now the official campaign managers of the pūteketeke,” he announced on his show.
Which brought us to the question: where did Oliver get the giant pūteketeke costume?
“We did not play any role in sourcing the amazing bird costume he wore on Fallon last night but are seriously impressed with his dedication to the pūteketeke,” said Ryker.
If anyone does have any information, please do contact us, as we have a sneaky suspicion the pūteketeke will take the lead in 2024′s most coveted Halloween costumes.
Air New Zealand joins the conversation
Aotearoa’s national carrier even decided to hop on to The Bird of the Century chatter, penning a ‘Dear John’ letter to Oliver for his efforts.
Air New Zealand invited the chat show star to migrate south on its “very own bird” to find out if the feathered friend he’s backing takes out the coveted prize.
Air New Zealand’s chief customer & sales officer Leanne Geraghty said Kiwis were spitting feathers when they found out the comedian was meddling in the nation’s most significant election of the year, so it was only right he visited.
“As fellow fliers, we love John Oliver’s passion for the pūteketeke, but we think it’s time he enjoys the magic of meeting our impeckable native birds in the flesh. We’re inviting John to Aotearoa for an exclusive meet and greet.
“There’s nothing quite like a bird’s eye view of Aotearoa from the window seat of our very own winged flier, so we’re offering John the opportunity to jump on board and visit us to back his bird — on us. It’s just one easy flight from his studio’s base in NYC.
“Aotearoa has given John a lot of material over the years, so it’s only natural he visits the source of many of his punchlines to smooth any feathers he’s ruffled. John — we know you’re a good egg, it’s about time for a visit.”
The New Zealand falcon, or kārearea - pictured here at the Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust in Rotorua - is also in the running. Photograph / Alan Gibson
The winner will be revealed on the morning of Wednesday, November 15. Voting closes at 5pm on Sunday, November 12.
The hold-up is a first in the competition’s history and is being put down to Oliver’s passionate campaign for his bird of choice, which has seen the TV host put up billboards across the globe, including the biggest intersection in Tokyo.
“We’re blown away at the outpouring of attention from around the world for our awesome native birds,” said Forest & Bird chief executive Nicola Toki. “A huge mihi to everyone who has voted, donated or contributed to the kaupapa so far.
“Also, a big shout-out to our local campaign managers, who have gone into overdrive to raise the profile of their chosen candidate with flair, creativity and laughs.
“Bird of the Century is a phenomenon because we have people from all walks of life making noise about birds — whether they’re kids making bird art, businesses doing their bit for biodiversity, or community groups staging grassroots events.”
The pekapeka or long-tailed bat was named as the New Zealand Bird of the Year in 2021. Photo / John Stone
The Bird of the Year’s past controversies
It is no surprise that several voting scandals have rocked the world’s most important bird poll throughout the years. New Zealand’s birdlife has a special place in the hearts of Kiwis, but the voting process itself has been controversial, too.
Quoting Forest & Bird’s response at the time, Oliver said on Last Week Tonight With John Oliver: “We’re not mad, just impressed that someone cares enough about New Zealand’s native birds to rig the competition. This all speaks to how much the people of New Zealand justifiably love this competition.”
After the scandal, an email vote verification system was implemented and an independent data scrutineer was employed to analyse this year’s votes for any irregularities that may point to fowl play.
Another controversy that rocked the competition was when a bat won in 2021.
The long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus), also known as the pekapeka-tou-roa, soared past the competition two years ago, winning by 3,000 votes.
Another scandal that Oliver passionately touched on during his 13-minute segment was the “bulls**t” kākāpō disqualification in 2008 and 2020, after the competition attempted to shine a light on the country’s lesser-known birds.
“We don’t do that for other awards,” Oliver sarcastically quipped, adding: “Oh sorry Beyoncé, you’ve already won 32 Grammys. You are disqualified from now on so that someone worse than you can win, I hope you understand.”
RealNZ's Bird of the Century billboard for kākāriki karaka. Photo / RealNZ
Why is the world so invested in Bird of the Century?
While it’s a no-brainer for Kiwis and bird enthusiasts alike, it’s a pleasant surprise to see the world tuning into the Bird of the Century competition with a similar zest.
But why do people around the globe want to vote for their favourite New Zealand winged wonders?
We posed the questions to Forest & Bird’s Ellen Rykers, who had been pondering the same thing.
“I think the competition captures international attention in part because people think it’s funny — in an endearing way — how passionate New Zealanders are about our birds. And I also think it’s partly due to the fact that we have incredible bird species that are cute, unique and have big personalities.”
The morepork (ruru) is also in the hunt for Bird of the Century. Photo / Alan Gibson
The impact of the votes
Of course, when it comes to The Bird of the Century competition, the most important goal is the support and awareness behind the feathery contenders.
Following Oliver’s show segment, online searches for the pūteketeke spiked significantly. What’s more, Forest & Bird confirmed via X, formerly Twitter, that donations had seen a significant increase this year and that they were “blown away by people’s generosity”.
“People should exercise their democratic right to vote if they’d like to see their favourite feathered friend swoop to the top of the flock, and to show their support for our native birdlife,” said Rykers.
“Behind all the silliness, memes and bird costumes, there’s a serious underlying message: more than 80 percent of our native birds are threatened or at risk of extinction.
“Given we love our birds so much, let’s make sure we protect them.”
