Small, reclusive pīwauwau rock wren takes out Bird of the Year title

Monday, 31 October 2022

The pīwauwau rock wren has won Bird of the Year 2022.

The small and reclusive pīwauwau rock wren has been crowned Bird of the Year 2022.

Although it only survives in small pockets of South Island high country and most New Zealanders have never seen one, it was crowned champion in a close race with two high-profile birds the Kororā/little penguin and the perennial crowd pleaser, the kea.

After a two-week voting period filled with creative campaigning, a kākāpō controversy, and even a threat of legal action, the pīwauwau has risen to the pinnacle of the New Zealand avian ladder.

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The rock wren has won Bird of the Year 2022.

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Stephen Day, who led the pīwauwau campaign alongside Lauren Schaer and staff at Herenga ā Nuku, the Outdoor Access Commission was delighted with the win.

'Unless you’d spent some time in the mountains, you’d probably never heard of a rock wren until two weeks ago. It’s a true underbird.

Most New Zealanders have never seen a rock wren.

Although pīwauwau are hard to spot, he said that it was definitely worth the effort of visiting the Southern Alps.

“They are tiny birds, chock-full of character and, like so many other species, they’re threatened by pests and climate change.'

Forest and bird chief executive Nicola Toki said the win proved “New Zealanders love an underbird”.

It had been great to see Kiwis get to know some of their lesser-known feathered neighbours and celebrate how awesome they were, she said.

The pīwauwau is a cute little olive bird with a stubby tail and long legs, weighing about the same as a MallowPuff biscuit. They have feet resembling snowshoes, with long talons, like crampons, for gripping onto rocks and snow. Pīwauwau prefer hopping between rocks, rather than flying.

New Zealand Birds on Line describes the wren as a “small, ground-feeding subpasserine found in the Southern Alps” and weighing between 16 and 20 grams.

Pīwauwau live above the bush line and it is the only truly alpine bird in New Zealand. It makes a “high-pitched three-note call and a whirring” call. It was very similar to the bush wren, considered extinct since 1972.

“A vote for pīwauwau is a vote for climate action. As Aotearoa’s only true alpine bird, these tiny wrens are already feeling the impacts of warmer temperatures, which allow predators like rats and stoats to climb higher and invade their mountaintop homes.”

The 2021 Bird of the Year was the long-tailed bat, pekapeka-tou-roa.

The pīwauwau received 2894 number one votes – around 450 fewer than the kororā. But once the transferable votes were applied, the pīwauwau ultimately rocked the top spot.

The top 10:

Pīwauwau/rock wren (2894)

Kororā/little penguin (3351)

Kea (1852)

Karure/kakaruia/Chatham Island black robin (1594)

Tawaki piki toka/rockhopper penguin (1468)

Pīwakawaka/ fantail (1228)

Hihi/stitchbird (1302)

Kārearea/New Zealand falcon (1260)

Pūteketeke / Australasian crested grebe(1184)

Titipounamu / rifleman (1477).