Tawny frogmouth named 2025 Australian bird of the year winner

"The tawny frogmouth has been named Australia's 2025 bird of the year, after taking second place in the biennial Guardian/BirdLife Australia poll three times running. More than 310,000 votes were cast after polling opened on 6 October and the tawny led the charge from the start, despite being hotly and persistently pursued by two cockatoos: the Baudin's black cockatoo and the ever-popular gang-gang."

"A tawny frogmouth win, however, was far from guaranteed. It was voted runner-up in 2019, 2021 and 2023. It also led the vote in the final stages of the 2023 competition, only to watch the swift parrot soar past on the final day. This year, 11,851 votes were cast for the tawny in the final round, comprehensively awarding it first place ahead of the Baudin's black cockatoo, which came in second with 7,688 votes."

"Tawny frogmouths are found only in Australia, but can be seen in almost any habitat apart from dense rainforests, alpine moors and treeless deserts. They are nocturnal, territorial and mate for life, nesting (haphazardly) on large horizontal branches of older trees. Tawnies and other frogmouths, so-named for their flat gaping bills, are often mistaken for owls but are more closely related to nightjars."

The tawny frogmouth secured the title of Australia's 2025 bird of the year in the biennial Guardian/BirdLife Australia poll after more than 310,000 votes were cast following polling opening on 6 October. The species won the final round with 11,851 votes, ahead of the Baudin's black cockatoo (7,688) and the gang-gang cockatoo (6,256). The tawny had previously been runner-up in 2019, 2021 and 2023 and briefly led the 2023 final stages. Tawny frogmouths occur across Australia in most habitats except dense rainforests, alpine moors and treeless deserts; they are nocturnal, territorial, mate for life, nest on large horizontal branches, and are more closely related to nightjars than to owls. A 2021 German study found them the world's most Instagrammable bird.

Read at www.theguardian.com