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My friends in Australia and New Zealand tell me that since the lockdowns began, flocks of spine-tailed swifts have swelled, more fairy-wrens are popping up at their bird baths and kereru — big pigeons that swallow large fruit — are perching on their back fences.

Previous winners include the kereru, a type of wood pigeon, in 2018 and the kea, a species of large parrot, in 2017.

Forest & Bird, the conservation group that runs the poll, said the hoiho's victory over the kakapo and last year's winner, the kereru, was a "huge upset".

I also see kereru, New Zealand’s large native wood pigeons, calling to each other.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was quick to congratulate the kereru even though she had been rooting for the taiko, or black petrel.