Pūteketeke wins NZ ‘Bird of Century’ poll after campaign by John Oliver

An unlikely winner has been crowned New Zealand’s ‘Bird of the Century’ after a US talk show host intervened in the poll.

US TV star’s bizarre act derails NZ ‘election’

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 pÅ«teketeke 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 pÅ«teketeke – otherwise known as the Australasian crested grebe.

The Australasian crested grebe won the Bird of the Year poll in New Zealand, receiving over 290,000 votes. Picture: Leanne Buchan Photography

The bird is known for its distinctive black and white plumage and its elaborate courtship displays involving synchronised dances and vocalisations.

The bird also carries its young on its back, shares chick-rearing responsibilities, and bizarrely eats and spews up its own feathers to expel parasites.

New Zealand’s incoming prime minister, Christopher Luxon, was moved enough by the victory to take to X, writing: “Congratulations to campaign manager John Oliver and all those who gave their support to the pÅ«teketeke.”

The bird is known for its black and white plumage, elaborate courtship dances, and parenting style of carrying its young on its back and sharing chick-rearing responsibilities. Picture: Leanne Buchan Photography

Its perceived quirks presumably drove the last Week Tonight host to assume the role of its “campaign manager” for the poll.

A fortnight before the winner was announced, Oliver told his HBO talk show audience of millions to mobilise while revealing a giant animatronic version of the bird.

“So please, before the contest closes at the end of this week, got to votethisbird.com and select the pÅ«teketeke as your number one vote.”

“After all, this is what democracy is all about: America interfering in foreign elections.”

Oliver spared no expense, campaigning with billboards in New Zealand, the US, Japan, France, the UK, and even hiring a skywriter in Brazil.

The Pūteketeke bird has just been crowned Bird of the Century - a huge result. Congratulations to campaign manager @iamjohnoliver and all those who gave their support to the Pūteketeke. @Forest_and_Bird have again done a great job raising awareness for New Zealand’s native…

— Christopher Luxon (@chrisluxonmp) November 14, 2023

The campaign came to a crescendo when Oliver appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon dressed as the bird.

Organisers of the poll were good sports, relishing the international attention during Wednesday morning’s announcement.

“PÅ«teketeke began as an outside contender for Bird of the Century but was catapulted to the top spot thanks to its unique looks, adorable parenting style, and propensity for puking,” Forest and Bird chief executive Nicola Toki said.

The victory was helped by a massive campaign led by John Oliver, who called on his audience to vote for the pūteketeke. Picture: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

“We’re not surprised these charming characteristics caught the eye of an influential bird enthusiast with a massive following,” she added in a nod to Oliver.

During his two-week campaign, Oliver shot back at New Zealand media and local campaigner’s attempts to drum up support for other species – crying “American interference.”

Organisers, however, were glad to receive the attention and relished their new international platform.

“We promised controversy but didn’t quite expect this. We’re stoked to see the outpouring of passion, creativity and debate that this campaign has ignited,” Ms TokI said.

The pūteketeke won New Zealand's Bird of the century poll after a campaign by John Oliver. Picture: Supplied.

“More than 80 per cent of our native birds are on the threatened species list, yet clearly, these amazing species mean so much to us as New Zealanders.

“Pending cuts to the Department of Conservation, the agency tasked with protecting these taonga under threat, are a huge worry. The world is watching us and how we look after our birds.”

Forest and Bird claimed Oliver’s campaign temporarily crashed its voting verification system, leading to a two-day delay to the winner announcement.

The Forest and Bird organisation, which runs the poll, hopes to use the attention to raise awareness of the need to protect New Zealand’s native birds. Picture: Supplied.

And if foreign election interference wasn’t enough, Forest and Bird confirmed its poll was also plagued by voter fraud.

Thousands of fraudulent votes were discarded during the counting process, including 40,000 votes cast by a single person for the tawaki piki toka eastern rockhopper penguin, which Oliver had smeared as the “hipster penguin”.

Organisers also revealed another person from Pennsylvania cast 3,403 fraudulent votes, with one arriving every three seconds.

“We know birds inspire incredible passion, but we encourage people to channel that passion into productive efforts rather than trying to rig an election,” Ms Toki said.

“Doing your bit for the birds could be as simple as keeping your cat in at night, donating a predator trap through Give a Trap, or adding your voice to Forest and Bird’s collective call-to-action for birds and for te taiao in New Zealand.”

As for the iconic kiwi, it took second place with 12,904 votes.