Black robin wins New Zealand Bird of the Year vote

The critically endangered black robin has won New Zealand's Bird of the Year competition after a record number of voters took part.

The small native bird lives on the remote Chatham Islands, about 800 kilometres off the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. In the 1980s, only five black robins remained, including one reproductive female. There are now about 350 in two protected populations.

The black robin finished ahead of the kakapo, a flightless parrot, and the native karearea falcon, which placed second and third.

The annual competition is run by the independent conservation organisation Forest and Bird. Rebecca Hatch of Forest and Bird said 105,000 people voted this year, roughly one in every 50 New Zealanders. The black robin received more than 26,000 votes.

The Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust ran the campaign for the black robin and is seeking to create a third habitat for the species.