A tiny manu from Rēkohu Chatham Islands has completed one of Aotearoa’s great conservation comeback stories, with karure, the black robin, crowned Bird of the Year 2026.
Forest & Bird says more than 105,000 people took part in this year’s competition, a record level of participation, with 88 percent of votes coming from within Aotearoa.
Karure emerged victorious after a close battle with two-time champion kākāpō. The final leaderboard put karure first with 25,610 votes, followed by kākāpō on 19,445 and kārearea, the New Zealand falcon, on 17,423.
But behind the fun of the competition sits an extraordinary survival story.
By 1980, the entire karure population had fallen to just five birds, including only one fertile female, Old Blue. A determined recovery programme involving the Chatham Islands community and the Wildlife Service rebuilt the population from Old Blue and her mate Old Yellow.
Today there are around 350 adult karure living on two pest-free nature reserve islands managed by the Department of Conservation.
The challenge is now finding room for the population to grow. Existing habitat is nearing capacity, meaning conservationists want to establish a third population. Restoration and predator-control work on Pitt Island could eventually provide another safe home.
The wider conservation message remains serious. Forest & Bird says around 80 percent of Aotearoa’s native bird species are in some degree of trouble, with eight of this year’s top 10 Bird of the Year finalists facing serious conservation challenges.
There was also a party vote in this year’s election-themed competition, with Tree Birds taking top spot with 22.9 percent, ahead of Shore Birds on 20 percent and Sea Birds on 17.3 percent.
For karure, however, the 2026 crown represents something much bigger than winning a popular vote. A species once reduced to five individuals is still here, still growing — and is now Aotearoa’s Bird of the Year.
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