Bird Of The Week (3)

Never one to fight shy of the odd existential question, I was intrigued by this piece of taxonomic slippage from New Zealand.

The conservationists, Forest and Bird, hold an annual poll to discover which is New Zealand’s most popular bird, a contest which has seen feathers fly over the years. For the 2021 competition, they decided to take a broader approach to the concept of a bird by including one of the island’s few native land mammals, Pekapeka-tou-roa or the long-tailed bat amongst the runners and riders.

After all, if Australia can be included in the Eurovision contest, why not broaden the definition of a bird to something that flies?

Democracy being what it is, this well-meaning attempt to raise awareness of the perils facing the bat backfired in spectacular fashion. Inevitably, the rather cute bat as bats go, the size of a thumb with a wingspan no larger than a hand, swept aside all-comers to win the accolade with a majority in excess of 3,000 votes.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a Pekapeka-tou-roa!