And the winner is….
THE TAWNY FROGMOUTH!
The bridesmaid has finally become the bride, and we’re all so happy that this cute little muppet is getting the recognition it deserves. With 11,851 votes out of 300,000, this bird (not-owl) has finally been given the crown after coming second 3 times.
Congrats to all the Tawny lovers!
In second place with 7,688 votes was the Baudin’s black cockatoo, which is also very muppet-like. Perhaps next year, it will be your turn to wear the Bird of the Year crown!
The top 10 birds in the Australian Bird of the Year competition
The birds that made it to the final 10 are as follows:
- Gang-gang cockatoo
- Spotted pardalote
- Wedge-tail eagle
- Laughing kookaburra
- Baudin’s black cockatoo
- Willie wagtail
- Little penguin
- Southern emu-wren
- Bush stone-curlew
- Tawny frogmouth
Head to The Guardian website to see information about the top 10, and further results from the Australian Bird of the Year competition for 2025.
Always the bridesmaid: why this bird deserves to win Bird of the Year
The Tawny Frogmouth has long been a favourite in Australia. After being voted runner-up in the last 3 Australian Bird of the Year competitions, we’re calling it- it’s time for the Tawny Frogmouth to win gold. And, great news, he’s made it to the final top ten!
You can vote for the Australian Bird of the Year as part of a competition run by BirdLife and The Guardian biannually. Every two years, members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Aussie birds in an online poll.
Previous winners include the beloved backyard Aussie Magpie (2017), the Black-throated Finch (2019), the Superb Fairywren (2021) and the Swift Parrot (2023). With the Tawny Frogmouth being the bridesmaid for 2019, 2021 and 2023, it’s time for justice.
Why the Tawny Frogmouth?
Contrary to popular thought, these funky-looking birds are not owls. Although Tawny Frogmouths (Podargus strigoides) are nocturnal, can fly silently and make that distinct ‘ooo-ooo-ooo’ sound, they are just a regular, albeit very cute, bird. They’re quite common in urban, tree-dense areas, although they can be very hard to spot because they’re so shy.
With silver-grey plumage and huge yellow eyes, there’s something about their imploring stare that says ‘Love me!’. When they furrow their brows, an ‘or else…’ is added onto their stare. And it’s that intense, a little scary yearning that makes everyone so fond of this Aussie bird.
With Reddit already demanding justice for this perpetual underdog and a new Instagram account, ‘Justice for Frogmouths’ appearing in the last two weeks, the odds are looking in this bird’s favour. Will you be ‘joining the resistance’?
3 reasons why the Tawny Frogmouth is so beloved
This bird has come second 3 times in a row. So, here are 3 reasons why the Tawny Frogmouth is so loved by the Aussie population.
1. Their cute, awkward, weird-looking face
It’s no secret that humans love when something is a bit weird or awkward. And, it’s no different when it comes to birds. One Reddit commenter described this Aussie bird as having ‘an adorable and derpy face’, while many others have commented on how it doesn’t look like a real-life bird.
‘Little dumdum face’, ‘a medieval illustration of an owl come to life’ and ‘total muppet’ are among the most hilarious descriptions of the Tawny Frogmouth.
2. They share the labour load
A partner that doesn’t chip in when the kids need to be looked after isn’t a partner worth keeping. While penguins may mate for life, the Tawny Frogmouth takes sharing the labour load very seriously. Both sexes of this bird incubate the eggs, taking turns to sit on their nest.
The male Tawny Frogmouth usually takes the day shift, and at night, the bird couple will sit together. Plus, they also mate for life, making them arguably the best parents and partners of the bird world.
3. They love to camouflage in the trees
Tawny Frogmouths don’t really like being spotted, and love to hide in amongst the branches of the old trees they live in. In fact, their main form of disguise is to pretend to be a part of the tree itself! Choosing a broken or split part of a tree, Tawny’s will stretch out to mimic a tree branch. They’re absolute masters of disguise (to us, anyway), and they look so cute doing it!
How to vote for Bird of the Year 2025
Voting has already opened for Bird of the Year. Each day, from 6-14 October, you can vote for your top birdies and see the live tally for them. At the end of each day, the bottom five birds are eliminated.
On the last day (14 October), the live tallies will disappear, and the final ten will battle it out. The bird with the most votes the morning of Wednesday, 15 October, will be crowned Bird of the Year! Watch out for the announcement the next day on The Guardian.
Birds that were eliminated
Since we’re already one day in, there are a few birds that have lost their wings:
14/10/25
- Australian pelican
13/10/25
- Australian magpie
- Orange-bellied parrot
- Peregrine flacon
- Rainbow bee-eater
- Regent honeyeater
10/10/25- 12/10/25
- Australian king parrot
- Australian pelican
- Australian white ibis
- Crested pigeon
- Eastern whipbird
- Galah
- Pied butcherbird
- Pied currawong
- Pink robin
- Powerful owl
- Rainbow lorikeet
- Red goshawk
- Southern cassowary
- Splendid fairy wren
- Superb lyrebird
9/10/25
- Australian brush turkey
- Crimson rosella
- Gouldian finch
- Satin bowerbird
- Sulphur-crested cockatoo
8/10/25
- Black swan
- Far-eastern curlew
- Pink-eared duck
- Shy albatross
- Tasmanian native-hen
7/10/25
- Budgerigar
- Cockatiel
- Welcome swallow
- Weebill
- White-winged chough
6/10/25
- Emu
- Australasian bittern
- Australian fairy tern
- Channel-billed cuckoo
- Olive-backed sunbird
Who will you be voting for this year? Whether you love the Kookaburra, the infamous bin-chicken (Australian White Ibis) or the well-deserving Tawny Frogmouth, there’s a chance for them all to win.
