The kiwi

The most recognised bird in New Zealand - but probably one of the least seen - is the iconic kiwi. It appears in emblems on everything from rugby shirts to tea towels, from flags to badges.

But the kiwi has topped a poll to find the country's favourite bird, despite being labelled a "flightless national bore" by critics.

The kiwi scored 1586 votes of more than 11,000 cast to take the title.

Forest & Bird advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell describred the kiwi as "a biological oddity - it has whiskers like a cat's, it burrows like a badger, it kicks like a kangaroo and it smells like a forest mushroom".

Previous winners of the annual poll were the tui (2005), fantail (2006), grey warbler (2007) and the kakapo (2008).

New Zealand's top 10 birds in 2009:

1. Kiwi (1586 votes)
2. Rifleman (1230 votes)
3. Kea (1093 votes)
4. Kakapo (829 votes)
5. Tui (619 votes)
6. Takahe (571 votes)
7. Fernbird (462 votes)
8. Fantail (395 votes)
9. Karearea/native falcon (383 votes)
10. Pukeko (382 votes)