Kokako wins Bird of the Year title

Monday, 31 October 2016

The kokako is a special bird to Pukaha Mt Bruce wildlife centre. The centre hold the only kokako in an aviary in New Zealand. The bird, named Kahurangi, has enthused and inspired peoples connection to the kokako for years with her quirky love of hu

The kokako has been crowned in Forest & Bird's Bird of the Year contest.

This year just under 20,000 people voted for their favourite bird. The kokako attracted 3614 votes, followed by the kea with 2608 votes and the fantail (piwakawaka) with 1508 votes.

Once threatened with extinction, kokako numbers were down to 660 in 1999 but are now over 3000, Forest & Bird said. Populations were recovering thanks to predator control and translocation programmes.

'Like many of New Zealand's native birds, the Kokako is vulnerable to predation by introduced mammalian predators such as stoats, cats, possums and rats that kill eggs, young birds and adults.'

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Oscar Thomas, 16, who promoted the kokako's cause in this year's contest.

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Oscar Thomas, 16, from Auckland, was prominent in the campaign to win the vote for the kokako for the first time.

'It has the most beautiful call of all New Zealand's birds and it's the loudest in the forest. It sings with a deep, five-note call that makes the Tui sound like an elaborate train wreck,' he said.

Thomas became interested in birds after his class visited Tiritiri Matangi Island when he was 10.

He is one of the youngest guides on the island, helps run a club for young birders, and has volunteered to count rare birds on the Chatham Islands.

'I wanted to show people how special all our native birds are and what we stand to lose. Eighty per cent of New Zealand's birds are classified as at risk or threatened and if we don't do anything to help them, they could be gone forever,' he said.

Thomas' kokako campaign was backed by the Rotoehu Ecological Trust in the Bay of Plenty. The trust manages 750 hectares of land in the 3500ha Rotoehu Forest Conservation Area, in partnership with the Department of Conservation.

It particularly looks after one of five category one sites in the country of North Island kokako. About 150 of the birds live in the forest.