Say Hi to the Hoiho, New Zealand's Bird of the Year

Thought Question: What’s something you care about that you think more people should know about, and how would you spread the word to get others involved?

A tiny penguin, one of the rarest in the world, is having its day in the sun, thanks to voters in New Zealand. It beat out a number of snipes, godwits, bellbirds, and the perennial favorite kiwi to secure the title of New Zealand’s Bird of the Year.  

The yellow-eyed penguin is known in the Indigenous Māori language as hoiho, or “noise shouter.” Described as “noisy, smelly, and shy,” hoihos are thought to be the world’s rarest penguins. Their population is confined to two small islands off New Zealand’s coast. Climate change, habitat loss, and fishing nets wreak havoc on the penguins. Their numbers have dropped by as much as 78% since 2010. That makes the attention they're getting from their win doubly important, conservationists say.  

“This spotlight couldn’t have come at a better time. This iconic penguin is disappearing from mainland Aotearoa (the Māori word for New Zealand) before our eyes,” expert Nicola Toki said in a press release. Toki is chief executive of the Forest & Bird organization.

This year’s competition featured plenty of memes. There were many mock bird-battles on social media, too. Yet it was mostly tame compared with last year’s vote. British-American comedian John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, made campaigning for the pūteketeke, or the Australasian crested grebe, a recurring skit on his show. The bit drew worldwide acclaim. More than 300,000 votes were cast (as opposed to the 50,000 this year). It also gave headaches to the overwhelmed staff who had to count all those votes. Still, it’s all in good fun. It’s for a good cause, too. Donations and attention are evenly spread to all the island’s endangered birds.    

Photo of a hoiho from Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Bernard Spragg.