Bird of the year

A fun way to pass some lockdown time.
 
This is an online, totally unscientific, annual poll to find Australia’s favourite bird. It starts today with a list of fifty, and we vote once a day. The five birds with the lowest number of votes drop off every day, until ten are left for the final poll on 7 October.
 
You don’t have to vote for the same bird each day. Today I voted for the Australian wood duck, because I felt sorry that they haven’t got many votes. Kookaburras are doing well, of course. I shall keep my real choice secret until the final vote.
 
The short descriptions of the birds are interesting and full of things you never knew. For example that the peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on the planet, or that the superb fairy wren is one of the most promiscuous birds (the male that is).
 
It’s sobering though to see how many of the fifty are declining in number and how many are threatened with extinction. These numbers have risen sharply since the disastrous fires last year.