Celebrating Bird of the Year 2026 with Bird Books

After a previous life working for the incredible folks over at Auckland Zoo, Bird of the Year is a BIG deal so I couldn't not turn it into a blog. Today I've got a couple of INCREDIBLE bird books for anyone else who is more than a little obsessed with the amazing feathered friends we get to share this country with, as well as a reading list inspired by the bird of the year for 2026!

This first time winner took the crown for 2026 with over 25,500 votes which is an incredible feat for a bird that at one point in the 80s was down to one SINGLE female left in it's entire population. The recovery from near extinction with the last breeding pair that was left is one of many incredible success stories for our endemic manu, and the wonderful thing about the Bird of the Year contest is that success stories like these ones get their time to shine, and are such a strong reminder about why the conservation work done is so vital. Now there are over 300 living on the Chatham islands.

There are two incredible bird books coming out soon that are perfect for anyone who was as obsessed with which manu would win this year as I was. Song of the Birds is by Robert Vennell and it's a beautifully done hardback  book about the history and meaning of Aotearoa's native birds. I have his previous gorgeous book, The Meaning of Trees, and it's such a perfect reference to flick through whenever I want to know a little more about one of our native tree species. 

Birdlands by Edin Whitehead is another coffee table worthy hardback book for the bird fans, this time about the wild islands where many of our precious species live out of reach of us and our touch. It gives the reader a rare and intimate look into the creatures who survive in the remote edges of our furthest outposts, and is a visual feast with stunning photography. 

We are spoilt for choice when it comes to bird books for our tamariki! One of the recent favourites in our whānau include B is for Bird by Lily Emo which is simple enough for the youngest ones, but packed with the most beautiful illustrations of our native manu. Once they are slightly older, get them hooked on Donovan Bixley's Squawk, full of our forest birds of Aotearoa or Ned Barraud's amazing books about our wildlife. Lastly, you can't go wrong with Omnibird by Giselle Clarkson - I wrote a whole post about why I adore her books, and she also just took out a HUGE win by taking home the top prize at this year's NZ Book Design Awards.

Lastly, I have a small reading list inspired by the karure itself - with a collection of small and quiet novels that are perfect for reading in a weekend and pay homage to this lovely little manu.