Karure the black robin crowned 2026 Bird of the Year after record turnout

Aotearoa’s most resilient manu has taken flight to the top of the national stage. On Thursday, 24 September 2026, the karure, or Chatham Islands black robin, was officially crowned the winner of the Forest & Bird of the Year competition. As reported by The Guardian and Waatea News, the tiny bird from Rēkohu secured the top spot in the annual contest, attracting 25,610 votes in a record-breaking turnout of 105,478 total participants. The karure finished comfortably ahead of the second-placed kākāpō, which received 19,445 votes, and the 2025 winner, the kārearea, which took third place with 17,423 votes. Organizers noted that 88 percent of the total votes originated from within New Zealand. Known as kakaruia in Māori and karure in Moriori—the language indigenous to Rēkohu—the black robin is found only in the Chathams, located 800km east of mainland New Zealand. The victory highlights one of the most extraordinary conservation success stories in history. By 1980, habitat loss and introduced pests had reduced the global population to just five birds. The entire survival of the species rested on a single fertile female, famously known as Old Blue, and her mate, Old Yellow. A pioneering breeding programme, which used other species as foster parents for robin eggs through the efforts of the Wildlife Service and the local community, helped the population grow to its current count of approximately 350 adult birds. Jess Mackenzie, a spokesperson for the Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust, noted that the win has cast a fresh spotlight on a species that remains classified as Nationally Critical. Habitats on the two current pest-free nature reserves are nearly at capacity, making the establishment of a third population essential for future security. Potential projects include restoration and predator-control work on Pitt Island to support the wider biodiversity of the Chathams, which provides habitat for 20 percent of New Zealand’s threatened bird species. For the people of Rēkohu, the Bird of the Year title is a recognition of decades of commitment to te taiao and kaitiakitanga. Forest & Bird stated that while the competition is light-hearted, it carries a serious message regarding the 80 percent of native birds in Aotearoa that face some level of threat. The win serves as a reminder that the work to save the species is far from over.