The Guardian and Birdlife Australia have opened nominations for the 2025 Australian bird of the year poll, inviting the public to suggest which of the country's 830 bird species should make the shortlist. The poll, held every two years, celebrates Australia's diverse avian life, which accounts for nearly one in ten of the world's 10,000 living bird species.
Previous winners include the magpie (2017), the black-throated finch (2019), the superb fairywren (2021), and the swift parrot (2023). The swift parrot is ineligible for the 2025 poll due to the winner's exclusion rule, but past champions may be included by popular demand. Notable contenders this year include the tawny frogmouth, which has finished second three times, and the gang-gang cockatoo, Canberra's faunal emblem.
Nominations close on Sunday 21 September. Voting begins on Monday 6 October, with the winner announced on Thursday 16 October. During the voting period, the five birds with the fewest votes will be eliminated daily, and readers can follow the live count on the Guardian's website until the final days when the count goes dark.
