The black robin, once down to just a single breeding pair, wins NZ bird of the year

The black robin has won New Zealand’s 2026 bird of the year competition but is not ‘saved yet’, says the Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust. The black robin has won New Zealand’s 2026 bird of the year competition but is not ‘saved yet’, says the Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust. New Zealand The black robin, once down to just a single breeding pair, wins NZ bird of the year Fondly known as the ‘goth’ of New Zealand’s bird world, the black robin now has a population of 350 adults thanks to a pioneering breeding programme

Prefer the Guardian on Google The black robin, once the world’s rarest bird before an extraordinary conservation project brought it back from brink of extinction, has been crowned New Zealand’s bird of the year, after record voter turnout.