Voting has closed for the 2025 Australian bird of the year, with more than 250,000 votes received and an official top 10 vying for the title.
The poll closed at 6am on Wednesday 15 October and the next day the bird with the most votes will be crowned the Guardian/BirdLife Australia Australian bird of the year for 2025.
In an unprecedented slight, the Australian magpie – winner of the inaugural 2017 poll – had failed the make the top 10.
The 10 finalists vying for first place, in order of their place in the poll on Monday, were:
Tawny frogmouth
Baudin’s black cockatoo
Gang-gang cockatoo
Willie wagtail
Bush stone-curlew
Southern emu-wren
Laughing kookaburra
Little penguin
Spotted pardalote
Wedge-tailed eagle
Don’t let appearances deceive you, history shows that high-flying top ten birds can be brutally knocked off the perch.
Take the poor old tawny frogmouth – always the bridesmaid, never the bride. It has landed in second place for the past three competitions. At this stage of the 2023 competition, it also led the vote, only to see the swift parrot soar past it once the vote tallies were hidden from public view on the final day of voting.
Matilda Boseley sports homemade pelican outfit to talk bird of the year on ABC – video
The gang-gang cockatoo, which ended Monday in third place, also holds some serious bird of the year lore, having placed third in the past two competitions. With the vocal backing of the Guardian Australia editor, Lenore Taylor, independent senator David Pocock and Gardening Australia host Costa Georgiadis, can this squawking beauty mount a comeback?
Or will the threatened Baudin’s black cockatoo – a newcomer to the poll this year – stage an upset and steal the crest?
The winner will be announced on Thursday 16 October between 12.30pm and 1pm. You can follow the coverage on the Guardian’s live blog and live stream right here on the Guardian’s website from 11.30am.
This year’s champion will join the ranks of previous winners: the Australian magpie, the black-throated finch, the superb fairy-wren and 2023’s champion, the swift parrot.