Fat flightless parrot left out of New Zealand's Bird of the Year vote because it's too popular

Voting opened this week for New Zealand's Bird of the Year, as Forest & Bird began its annual quest to find the best bird in the country. There is not a single vote on the ballot this year. The country's beloved kkp has been barred from this year's competition because he will once again dominate his opponents.

It's a break. The kkp's exile is not a lifetime ban according to a Forest and Bird spokeswoman. It might not be so interesting if the same bird wins every year.

The kkp is a flightless green parrot that deserves a better world than it has received. The native birds of New Zealand are almost extinct due to the introduction of the predator species.

Its candidacy for Bird of the Year has been removed.

Forest & Bird has been contacted by Mashable.

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Forest & Bird are trying to distract Bird of the Year voters from the missing kkp. The underbird status was determined by a number of factors, including popularity in previous Bird of the Year contests. The pied shag is one of the birds afforded this designation.

"Aotearoa is home to so many fantastic birds, and we'd love for voters to check out the full suite of candidates, including the underbirds, who are often overlooked and underappreciated."

The kkp has taken the title in both 2008 and 2020. The organisation has been playing fast and loose with the rules. The winner of last year's Bird of the Year contest was New Zealand's long-tailed bat. A lot of voters didn't seem to be bothered by that.

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Forest & Bird decided to temporarily bar the kkp from competition. It can feel like less popular birds are left out of the spotlight while famous birds are showered with attention.

A democracy that disqualifies a candidate solely because they received a high number of legitimate votes can't be called a democracy at all. It is meant to allow the people to make their own decisions.

The kkp is a nominee for bird of the year. The people should have a parrot.