By RNZ
The pīwauwau / rock wren is the winner of the Bird of the Year contest for 2022.
The winner of the country’s most popular competition was announced on RNZ’s Morning Report today.
By yesterday three frontrunners had emerged: the pīwauwau / rock wren, the kea, and the kororā / little blue penguin.
The diminutive alpine dweller narrowly defeated the little blue penguin to take the top spot, with nearly 3000 voters putting it in the top spot.
Pīwauwau campaign leader Stephen Day said the bird had definitely flown under the radar until now.
“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 two-time champion kākāpō was barred from the ballot, as the organisers, Forest and Bird, decided to make this year all about the underbirds.
Last year’s competition proved controversial with the long-tailed bat prevailing.
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