What is New Zealand's Bird of the Year 2025?

The New Zealand falcon, also known by the Māori name the kārearea

The New Zealand falcon has been named the winner of the country's annual Bird of the Year competition.

The falcon managed to secure the most votes out of the 73 national birds put forward.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the hotly-contested race, which seeks to raise awareness of the country's many native species considered to be in danger.

The competition is run by conservation group Forest & Bird.

The New Zealand falcon is also known by the Māori name, the kārearea.

Māori are people indigenous to New Zealand, which means they were the first people to live in the country.

In second place was the kea, which got 12,506 votes, with the kakaruia or black robin in third with 11,726 votes.

Also in the running was the kākāpō, the world's fattest parrot.

It's already won Bird of the Year twice and in 2020 was given a year off from the contest so other birds could have more of a chance to win.

Last year's winner was a shy yellow-eyed penguin called the hoiho.

Keas, which got the second highest number of votes, are listed as nationally endangered and are facing extinction due to habitat loss

This year's contest saw a record number of more than 75,000 voters, with 21% of the valid votes cast for the kārearea.

The falcon is a high-speed hunter, and when it dives it can reach a speed of 200km per hour, which makes them well suited for hunting in New Zealand's thick forests.

They are also at risk, with just 5,000 to 8,000 of them left in the wild.

As well as earning the annual title, the kārearea will become the subject of a new waiata - a Māori language song - that will be released to the public.

The kārearea is known for being a high-speed hunter

To help the public understand more about the species and why they should win, each bird had a volunteer campaign manager, who used memes, reels and hand-drawn posters to raise their profile.

The campaign managers even held an election debate, to make the case for why the public should vote for their bird.

This year, as well as voting for their favourite bird, nature lovers were also able to take part in a special edition of the online game Wordle - called, of course, Birdle!

The takahē, which was once thought to be extinct, is among the birds that have never won Bird of the Year before

Although it all might seem like a strange idea, Nicola Toki, who organised the poll said: "Behind the memes and mayhem is a serious message."

She added: "Habitat destruction, climate change and introduced predators continue to push many species towards extinction. But public awareness can be powerful," she said.

Ms Toki has spoken of two of this year's contestants, the kākāpō and karure black robin, being "nationally critical", each with fewer than 300 birds remaining.

Other birds in the running this year - including the takahē and the enigmatic ruru (also known as the moreporwhich) - have been brought back from the brink of extinction.