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title: "New Zealand’s Bird of the Year competition puts the Northern Royal Albatross into the top ten"
---

# New Zealand’s Bird of the Year competition puts the Northern Royal Albatross into the top ten

![Chris Robertson Northern Royal Albatross 2](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/N/Northern_Royal/Chris_Robertson_Northern_Royal_Albatross_2.jpg) *A Northern Royal Albatross pair, photograph by Chris Robertson*

 The r[esults](https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/karure-black-robin-wins-2026-bird-year?fbclid=IwY2xjawUgw8RwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMXprNGM1bWFRWndhWDFaV3dzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe5sT7On-CXigigo1s_ZIuYs2yuEOweBzL77NY-I55UpbHnYvukO-gvGkhf3I_aem_rAac04GCXwgs8CJBtLevBw) for [BOTY2026 – New Zealand](https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/), operated by [Forest & Bird](https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/), are in.  The winner, with 25 601 votes, is the Black Robin *Petroica traversi*.  This [Vulnerable](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/black-robin-petroica-traversi) species, with an adult population of only 350, breeds on two small islands in the Chathams group.  Three seabirds appear in the top ten, chosen from a list of 74 “contestants”.  The Eastern Rockhopper Penguin *Eudyptes chysocome filholi* came in seventh, while the Yellow-eyed Penguin *Megadyptes antipodes*filled the tenth position.  The only ACAP-listed species, and the only procellariiform, in the top tier is the Northern Royal Albatross *Diomedea sanfordi,*slotting in as No. 9 (having been as high as [8th](https://acap.aq/latest-news/boty2026-nz-seven-days-of-voting-down-nine-to-go-the-northern-royal-albatross-is-coming-eighth?highlight=WyJib3R5MjAyNiJd)).

 Backed by the [Royal Albatross Centre](https://albatross.org.nz/) (as well as by [ACAP](https://acap.aq/latest-news/boty2026-nz-voting-starts-today-please-help-crown-the-northern-royal-albatross?highlight=WyJib3R5MjAyNiJd)), the [Endangered](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/northern-royal-albatross-diomedea-sanfordi) albatross received 12 658 votes.  Two other ACAP-listed species, the [Vulnerable](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/black-petrel-procellaria-parkinsoni) Black Petrel *Procellaria parkinsoni* and the [Endangered](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/westland-petrel-procellaria-westlandica) Westland Petrel *P. westlandica*, did not fare so well, coming in at 48th and 67th, respectively.  Hutton’s Shearwater *Puffinus huttoni*, a species that has been [regularly reported](https://acap.aq/search?q=Hutton%27s+Shearwater&w1=before&d1=&w2=before&d2=) on in *ACAP Latest News*, was 25th.

 ![BOTY2026 FINAL](https://acap.aq/images/BOTY2026_FINAL.jpeg)*The final results for New Zealand's BOTY2026*

 “Participation has really soared, says Rebecca Hatch, Forest & Bird's Group Manager.  This year has seen record numbers of votes with 105 000 people.  Roughly one in every 50 Kiwis [New Zealanders} voted in Bird of the Year 2026.  Bird of the Year … helps people discover, connect with, and fall in love with the incredible diversity of New Zealand's wildlife, while shining a light on the real challenges nature is facing.”

 In several previous New Zealand BOTYs, it has been the [Endangered](https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/antipodean-albatross-diomedea-antipodensis) Antipodean Albatross *D. antipodensis* that has been the best achieving ACAP-listed candidate.  In 2020 it reached its best position, on the podium as [second](https://acap.aq/latest-news/podium-position-the-antipodean-albatross-comes-second-in-new-zealand-s-boty2020?highlight=WyJib3R5IiwiYW50aXBvZGVhbiIsImFudGlwb2RlYW5zIl0=) and behind the Kākāpō *Strigops habroptila* in the top slot.

 No albatross (or any procellariform seabird for that matter) has won the competition since its inception in 2005.  There is always next year … .

 *John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 24 September 2026*