10 November 2020 - Surge of attention for polyamorous Hihi in New Zealand Bird of the Year contest
Kiwis flock to Bird of the Year poll
Ben McKay (The Canberra Times, 03/11/2020)
With the general election done and dusted, New Zealanders are turning their attention to another national contest: the Bird of the Year.
"Anybody who loves and appreciates New Zealand's native birds is welcome to take interest and vote," Forest and Bird's Laura Keown told AAP.
"Bird of the Year was originally planned to end on the weekend of 17 October but we didn't want to overshadow the quite important human election."
New Zealand bird of the year: adult toy store endorses 'polyamorous' hihi
Phil Taylor (The Guardian, 10/11/2020)
The competition to elect New Zealand’s bird of the year has intensified with a vote-rigging scandal and an adult toy store endorsing a small, polyamorous bird with unusually large genitals.
The annual competition, which began 15 years ago to draw attention to native birds, many of which are endangered, has grown into a national obsession. Different types of birds have their own campaign managers and the competition is so fierce that this year has seen record early voting – with 40,000 ballots cast so far and five days still remaining.
Flock flacks: Meet the campaign managers behind the Bird of the Year
Maia Hall (The Spinoff, 07/11/2020)
All birds need a buddy. An ally. Or a PR consultant?
The lucky birds entered in the prestigious NZ Bird of the Year competition have been assigned a campaign manager, to help them communicate their strengths to the public in what is shaping up to be the third-biggest election of 2020.
The bad boys of Bird of the Year 2020
Amber Allott (Stuff, 01/11/2020)
A team of dedicated conservationists is trying to convince Kiwis to get behind birds even a mother couldn't love.