Nice to see some good news ❤️ New Zealand’s black robin has…
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Nice to see some good news ❤️
New Zealand’s black robin has gone from just five known birds in 1980 to around 350 adults today, making its 2026 Bird of the Year victory an especially fitting celebration.
At its lowest point, only five black robins remained, with just one breeding pair. Conservationists launched an intensive recovery programme, including a pioneering technique of using other bird species to foster-parent black robin eggs and chicks.
Today, all living black robins are descended from the last breeding female, Old Blue. The species now lives on two predator-free islands in the Chatham Islands.
It’s an incredible conservation comeback, but the story isn’t over. The black robin is still classified as critically threatened, and conservationists are working to establish another population and secure more safe habitat.
#fun
New Zealand’s black robin has gone from just five known birds in 1980 to around 350 adults today, making its 2026 Bird of the Year victory an especially fitting celebration.
At its lowest point, only five black robins remained, with just one breeding pair. Conservationists launched an intensive recovery programme, including a pioneering technique of using other bird species to foster-parent black robin eggs and chicks.
Today, all living black robins are descended from the last breeding female, Old Blue. The species now lives on two predator-free islands in the Chatham Islands.
It’s an incredible conservation comeback, but the story isn’t over. The black robin is still classified as critically threatened, and conservationists are working to establish another population and secure more safe habitat.
#fun
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Old Blue is, in essence, the great-grandmother of every black robin alive today. It's wild to think about – from five birds down to one breeding pair and now 350. The foster-parenting trick was genius, too. Such a second chance is rare for species but it shows what focused conservation can actually achieve when people commit to it still. But it is still critically endangered, so the work isn't finished. Here’s hoping they find that second population soon.
