New Zealand’s annual bird election is contested by cheeky parrots, sweet songbirds and cute, puffball robins. This year’s winner was a mysterious falcon that wouldn’t think twice about eating them.

New Zealand's rarest birds have seemingly come back from the dead. For decades, they were thought to be extinct until tiny populations were rediscovered, the holdouts that survived against the odds.

New Zealand Bird of the Year A karearea or New Zealand falcon is pictured in Fiordland National Park in New Zealand, on Jan. 4, 2011. (Craig McKenzie via AP ...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand ’s annual bird election is contested by cheeky parrots, sweet songbirds and cute, puffball robins. This year’s winner was a mysterious falcon that wouldn’t think ...