The Guardian and Birdlife Australia are calling on bird enthusiasts to nominate their favourite species for the 2025 Australian bird of the year poll. The biennial competition, which began in 2017, celebrates Australia's rich avian diversity, home to nearly one in ten of the world's bird species.
Nominations are open until Sunday 21 September, with the final list of 50 birds to be announced before voting begins on Monday 6 October. The winner will be revealed on Thursday 16 October. Each day, the five birds with the fewest votes will be eliminated, with live vote counts available on the Guardian's website until the final days.
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, but past winners may be included by popular demand. Notable contenders include the tawny frogmouth, which has placed second three times, and the gang-gang cockatoo, Canberra's faunal emblem.
