It received 25,610 votes, finishing ahead of the kākāpō, which received 19,445, and the kārearea, or New Zealand falcon, which received 17,423. Forest & Bird
The overall election attracted an unusually large amount of public participation.
The Guardian reported that the 2026 competition saw a record turnout, with more than 100,000 votes cast overall. The Guardian
The victory was particularly meaningful because the black robin had come close to winning in previous years but had never taken the top position.
This time, voters chose a bird whose entire modern existence is connected to one of the world's most dramatic conservation recoveries.
The campaign did not merely ask people to vote for a cute animal.
It gave the public an opportunity to learn about a species that was almost gone.
And perhaps that is one reason the story resonated so strongly.
The black robin represents a very simple idea:
Recovery is possible—but only if people act before it is too late.
From Old Blue to a New Generation
Old Blue is long gone.
But her descendants remain.
Every black robin alive today traces its ancestry back to the tiny population that survived the crisis of the late twentieth century, and specifically to the last breeding female and her mate. DOI
Her story has therefore become much bigger than one bird.
Old Blue represents a genetic and historical thread connecting the black robins of 1980 with the birds living on Mangere and Rangatira today.
Five birds became dozens.
Dozens became hundreds.
And hundreds became enough for the species to win the country's most prominent bird popularity contest.
But the victory should not create the impression that conservation is finished.
The black robin remains highly restricted in range.
Its genetic diversity is low.
Its populations remain vulnerable to disease, predators and environmental disruption.
And the two existing populations are concentrated on small islands with limited suitable habitat. Scientific research has identified the need for additional populations as an important part of long-term recovery planning. DOI
In other words, the black robin has escaped immediate extinction.
Now conservationists must help it remain safely beyond that line.
Why This Recovery Matters Beyond New Zealand
The black robin's importance extends beyond the Chatham Islands.
Its recovery demonstrates that conservation does not always require enormous numbers of animals to begin with.
Sometimes it begins with a handful.
Sometimes it begins with one female.
Sometimes success depends on an unconventional idea that initially sounds almost impossible.
Cross-fostering became the key.
Researchers learned how to manipulate breeding opportunities without exhausting the remaining birds. They experimented, adapted and continued working when early approaches were not ideal.
That willingness to experiment became one of the defining features of the recovery.
The black robin story has since been used internationally as an example of intensive endangered-species management. Department of Conservation
It also illustrates another important lesson.
Saving a species is rarely one person's achievement.
Old Blue became the symbol, but she did not save herself.
The birds needed conservationists.
They needed local communities.
They needed safe islands.
They needed habitat restoration.
They needed monitoring.
They needed strict quarantine procedures.