New Zealand has found its “Bird of the Century”, which, thanks to a British-American TV show host – isn’t the iconic kiwi. On Wednesday, New Zealand ’s leading independent conservation organisation, Forest and Bird, was forced to crown the pūteketeke as New Zealand ’s Bird of the Century after talk show host John Oliver controversially derailed the poll. This year’s poll was exceptional, as it received a remarkable number of votes, breaking all the previous records.
Running annually as a “bird of the year” poll for almost two decades, this year saw over 350,000 ballots cast from nearly 200 nations, prompting the voting verification system even briefly crashed. Over 290,000 of those votes flowed the way of the pūteketeke – otherwise known as the Australasian crested grebe
New Zealand Bird Of The Century Pūteketeke Australasian Crested Grebe Poll John Oliver