The high-speed hunter kārearea, also known as the New Zealand Falcon, is the winner of New Zealand’s yearly Bird of the Year competition 2025. Forest & Bird holds annual competitions on what species should be Bird of the Year in New Zealand.
The Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau, also known as the current Bird of the Year, participated in a contest held by Forest & Bird, which had a total of 73 birds running this year’s contest. With 75,439 votes, the New Zealand Falcon, the kārearea, took the top spot of the competition with 14,317 votes.
Additionally, the second highest was the kea with 12,506, and third place was the black robin, also known as the kakaruia, with 11,726 votes.
When looking into this award-winning species, the kārearea is capable of reaching 230km/hr in just a dive, which makes them especially skillful when hunting in the dense forests of New Zealand. They are also able to catch prey mid-flight, sneaking up on small birds before they see it coming.
Since they are native species of New Zealand, they initially make their nests on steep slopes or rock ledges. However, their native habitat has been reduced due to human development of land, agriculture, etc. As a result, the kārearea are highly at risk, with only 5,000 to 8,000 left alive.
In 2025, it will be the 20th anniversary of Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau. Nevertheless, this is not only a competition, as Forest & Bird is New Zealand’s leading independent conservation organisation that is working to protect endangered species such as the kārearea.
Furthermore, the association works together to hold their Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau, while spreading awareness of the country’s native species being threatened.
It’s said that the introduction of habitat destruction and climate change to the region is the main cause of pushing these predators to extinction.
Although the species are highly endangered, the people of New Zealand search for hope to save these species from extinction by continuing to spread public awareness.
Other bird species part of New Zealand’s Habitat suffer from habitat loss from deforestation and other anthropogenic activities. Most of these native species accidentally fly into buildings and power lines of the city, and even into nets above vines and trees.
Forest & Bird’s Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau is a genius way to raise awareness of their endangered species, so let’s hear about some thoughts on that with a student who is thoughtful of these native species of New Zealand.
“I think it’s a great campaign to raise awareness for these bird species, cause I’m very fond of birds, and I’m glad people are starting to take awareness to how endangered they are, and overall, I think it’s great”, said 9th grader, Kendall Ballestero.
People online often ask Forest & Bird about why they always run their Bird of the Year competition annually. This was a frequently asked question, as they run the Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau yearly because it helps spread awareness about New Zealand’s wildlife, giving the species all the recognition they can get from the public.
The competition spreads the awareness of their native species about their habitat and the threats they face.
Overall, Forest & Bird do their best to help out their native wildlife from human activities and natural disasters, and many people like them have the same objective too, addressing the main problems that are causing the world to face such problems.
