'Lame, national bore' tops poll

The 'biological oddity' that is NZ's Kiwi topped the poll. Photo / NZ Herald

The "flightless national bore", the kiwi, has topped the polls to be named Forest & Bird's Bird of the Year.

The feathered ground dweller beat out close competitors the kea and the rifleman in the final days of polling after a hard-fought war of words between celebrity bird managers, including Jeremy Wells, Sam Hunt and Kiri Te Kanawa.

The kiwi, ridiculed during the contest as "lame" and a "flightless national bore", scored 1586 votes of more than 11,000 cast to take the title.

It failed to make the top 10 last year, but last year's winner, the kakapo, fell back to fourth place.

Forest & Bird advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell said the kiwi was "a biological oddity - it has whiskers like a cat's, it burrows like a badger, it kicks like a kangaroo and it smells like a forest mushroom".

The kiwi's campaign manager, BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust executive director Michelle Impey, said there was no more-deserving winner for the award.

The competition was in its fifth year, with previous winners the tui (2005), fantail (2006), grey warbler (2007) and the kakapo (2008).

This year's top 10 birds:

1. Kiwi (1586 votes)
2. Rifleman (1230 votes)
3. Kea (1093 votes)
4. Kakapo (829 votes)
5. Tui (619 votes)
6. Takahe (571 votes)
7. Fernbird (462 votes)
8. Fantail (395 votes)
9. Karearea/native falcon (383 votes)
10. Pukeko (382 votes)

- NZPA