A bird known for its
romantic yet blood-thirsty nature has won the title of 2012 Bird of the Year in
a Forest & Bird poll.
The karearea, or New
Zealand falcon, won 1261 votes in the conservation organisation’s eighth annual
poll, followed by the kokako in second place with 965 votes and the ruru with
663 votes.
Forest & Bird
advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell says the karearea is a great romantic, with
birds going to great lengths to woo each other.
“During courtship, couples
will perform an aerial ballet, swapping food mid-flight, performing mock attack
dives or spiralling gracefully landward.”
But the bird also is a
skilled hunter, able to kill prey larger than itself with a lethal bite to the
neck.
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