Forest & Bird run the annual Te Manu Rongonui o te Tau competition to raise awareness of Aotearoa's native wildlife, their habitats and the threats they face. This year the Hub is throwing our support behind Team Ruru!
Team Ruru!
Our small team is spread throughout the motu but there's one thing we have in common – the joy of hearing birdsong thanks to the ongoing efforts to conserve our native birds and their habitats. When the other birds have settled in for the night, we love hearing the haunting calls of the ruru – whether it's the gentle cree, throaty quork-quork or classic ruru/morepork.
Their calls remind us that all things are connected – ruru whakapapa to both freshwater and dry land ecosystems. They also show us the connections between mātauranga Māori and science – when we weave the two together, we get a deeper knowledge of these nocturnal birds of prey.
If you are a night owl – or just like night owls, make some noise and get behind Team Ruru!
Unfortunately, many of New Zealand's native birds are in trouble and need your help. About 75% of land birds and 90% of seabirds are threatened or at risk of extinction. Their habitats are being destroyed or degraded by introduced predators, pollution, human development and climate change.
Voting opens at 9:00 am on Monday 17 October and closes 5:00 pm on Monday 31 October.
Rank your top-five choices to help decide which bird will be crowned Bird of the Year Te Manu Rongonui o Te Tau 2022.
For more information and to vote: www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/
Related content
Last year's winner, the pekepeka is not standing so which bird will get your vote in 2022? Will it be the takahē, kiwi, kākā, kererū, godwit, kea, albatross, ruru or one of New Zealand's native ducks?
We have re-purposed the popular Building Science Concepts Book 3: Birds: Structure, Function, and Adaptation with an article and interactive linking this great resource with Hub content.
The Science Learning Hub also has a flock of resources under our birds topic, you could start with the article Conserving native birds – introduction.
