Noisy, smelly yellow-eyed penguin wins New Zealand’s bird of the year

Can this win spark the conservation momentum needed to save the hoiho – thought to be the world’s rarest penguin – from extinction?

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The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin. Its numbers have dropped perilously by 78 per cent in the past 15 years. Photo: AP

Associated Press

Published: 9:04am, 16 Sep 2024Updated: 9:25am, 16 Sep 2024

It’s noisy, smelly, shy – and New Zealand’s bird of the year.

The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, won the country’s fiercely fought avian election on Monday, offering hope to supporters of the endangered bird that recognition from its victory might prompt a revival of the species.

It followed a campaign for the annual Bird of the Year vote that was absent the foreign interference scandals and cheating controversies of past polls. Instead, campaigners in the long-running contest sought votes in the usual ways – launching meme wars, seeking celebrity endorsements and even getting tattoos to prove their loyalty.

More than 50,000 people voted in the poll, 300,000 fewer than last year, when British late night host John Oliver drove a humorous campaign for the pūteketeke – a “deeply weird bird” which eats and vomits its own feathers – securing a landslide win.

This year, the number of votes cast represented 10 per cent of the population of New Zealand – a country where nature is never far away and where a love of native birds is instilled in citizens from childhood.

The hoiho’s name means “noise shouter” in the Māori language. It’s a shy bird that’s thought to be the world’s rarest penguin. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

“Birds are our heart and soul,” said Emma Rawson, who campaigned for the fourth-placed ruru, a small brown owl with a melancholic call. New Zealand’s only native mammals are bats and marine species, putting the spotlight on its birds, which are beloved – and often rare.