Once down to five, black robin wins New Zealand’s Bird of the Year

Once reduced to five birds and a single breeding pair, the black robin now numbers about 350 adults. Its first win in New Zealand’s Bird of the Year competition in 2026 has put that conservation comeback in the spotlight.

Found only in the Chatham Islands, around 800 kilometres east of mainland New Zealand, the tiny, black-feathered bird was devastated by habitat loss and introduced pests. Its recovery depended on work by the island community and wildlife authorities, including a breeding programme that used other bird species as foster parents for its eggs.

The contest, run by conservation group Forest & Bird to raise awareness of native birds, placed the black robin ahead of the kākāpō and the kārearea, New Zealand’s only falcon.

Yet the black robin remains threatened. Its two pest-free island reserves are nearly at capacity, with little suitable territory left for more birds. Conservationists say a third population on another island is needed for numbers to keep growing.

The Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust is working to remove feral cats, a major predator of black robins, from Pitt Island. That work could provide safer habitat for the species, offering a possible next chapter in a recovery that is remarkable but unfinished.