Bird of the Century

Last year New Zealand crowned the Puteketeke as their Bird of the Century. This raise a lot of questions: who has the authority to name a bird for the century, why is 2023 the year it happened, and what the heck is the Puteketeke? Join me in this episode to learn more and to find out how John Oliver made a dramatic entry to saw the vote in favour of an underdog.

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Notes:

• Great Crested Grebe: https://ebird.org/species/grcgre1?siteLanguage=en_AU
• Forest and Bird: https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/
• Bird of the Century winner: https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/
• Previous Bird of the Year winners: https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/past-champions/
• Puteketeke: https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/bird-century-winner-announced-puteketeke-pandemonium-prevails#:~:text=The%20p%C5%ABteketeke%20Australasian%20crested%20grebe,atop%20its%20burnt%2Dorange%20mullet.
• Feet for tail feathers: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4070281?seq=2
• Grebe mating dancing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs_3WAfDVsc
• Grebes eat feathers: https://www.audubon.org/news/grebes-their-meals-side-feathers-heres-why#:~:text=Strange%20as%20it%20sounds%2C%20grebes,way%20to%20slow%20down%20digestion.
• John Oliver on Jimmy Fallon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVE1hBzHn3s
• Does John Oliver hate birds?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l2Y6Z-maAU