Conservation Success Story
Endangered Black Robin Wins New Zealand Bird Title After Remarkable Conservation Recovery
Anonymous
New Zealand’s endangered karure black robin has won the 2026 Bird of the Year competition for the first time, finishing ahead of the kākāpō, kārearea, kea and takahē. Native to the remote Chatham Islands, the species fell to just five birds in the 1980s before an intensive conservation program, including the use of foster parents for eggs, helped rebuild the population to about 350 adults. Despite that recovery, the black robin remains critically endangered because its two predator-free island habitats are nearing capacity. Conservationists are working to establish a third habitat, including efforts to remove feral cats from Pitt Island. The contest drew record domestic participation, with roughly 100,000 validated votes and about 88 percent cast by New Zealand residents.
Key Points
1
All living karure black robins descend from a single breeding pair, Old Blue and Old Yellow, underscoring the species’ extremely narrow genetic history.
2
The species is known as kakaruia in Māori and karure in Moriori, and has been nicknamed the “goth” of New Zealand’s bird world because of its black plumage, eyes and beak.
3
Unlike robins in other countries, the karure is not part of the overseas robin family; it is a distinct species.
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The black robin received more than 25,500 votes, while Forest and Bird reported 98,920 validated votes overall; the contest has been held since 2005.
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The competition has previously faced voting controversies: in 2019, hundreds of ballots were registered from Russian IP addresses, though Forest and Bird said most were legitimate and did not affect the yellow-eyed penguin’s victory; in 2023, John Oliver’s international campaign helped propel the pūteketeke to the title.
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