Bird of the year 2021: superb fairy-wren crowned winner of Australia’s favourite #BirdOfTheYear poll – live

Since the vote counts were hidden on the final day, we have produced this extremely dramatic animation of the final ten birds jostling for position over the final day of voting

My colleagues from the data team wanted to test the hypothesis that more commonly-seen birds would get a greater share of the vote. However, comparing bird counts from the 2020 Aussie Backyard Bird Count with vote counts from Bird of the Year suggests there’s no correlation between the two.

For those of you who love data, this chart by Nick Evershed shows the final share of the votes for each bird overall, as well as the vote share for each bird on each day.

But while some mourn, others organise. Will 2023 finally be the Tawny frogmouth’s year?

Sorry for that small pause, I’ve been doing cartwheels around my living room.

It is time for our four runners-up!

5th place is the Australian brush turkey (bush turkey) with 9790 votes.

4th is our neighbourhood friend the Galah with 10,570 votes.

In 3rd, after a tremendous showing this year, is the Gang-gang cockatoo with 12,836 votes!

And our second place-getter, edged out by a feather, is the Tawny frogmouth with 13,332 votes.

Of course, every bird is a winner in our eyes and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

And here we go. The winner of Guardian Australia’s 2021 Bird of the Year poll, with a whopping 13,998 votes. Small in stature, massive in popularity and lover of shared childcare and communal living … watch the video to find out!

Now we are getting very close to the big announcement. Here is how it will work. The winner’s name is in an envelope in a top secret location. Guardian Australia editor Lenore Taylor will reveal the number one in a video recording.

I have asked if she has an individual of each of the remaining species in her office to inform them of the results personally but am told they will be sent a text. Brutal.

And in 6th place, after one of the strongest campaigns from the scientific community and my colleague Graham Readfearn, it is the regent honeyeater with 9139 votes!

This special bird needs all of your support to continue.

In 7th is our most colourful contender, maybe even the most colourful of all Australian birds. Please raise a glass to the Gouldian finch with 8445 votes!