Pūteketeke wins 'Bird of the Century' with John Oliver's backing

Nov. 15 (UPI) -- The pūteketeke, also known as the Australasian crested grebe, was named New Zealand's Bird of the Century after a campaign spearheaded by comedian John Oliver.

Conservation charity Forest and Bird announced the winner Wednesday after a two-day delay caused by a flood of votes that temporarily crashed the online voting verification system.

Oliver voiced his support for the pūteketeke in the online vote during the Nov. 5 episode of his HBO series, Last Week Tonight.

"No bird on Earth is more deserving of Bird of the Century than this one," Oliver said. "They are weird puking birds with colorful mullets. What's not to love here?"

Forest and Bird said more than 350,000 votes were cast in the Bird of the Century poll, and 290,374 of those went to the pūteketeke. The previous record for most votes cast in the annual contest was 56,733 in 2021.