WELLINGTON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The puteketeke Australasian crested grebe has won Bird of the Century 2023, the event organizer said on Wednesday.

The Bird of the Century competition is held by New Zealand's independent conservation organization Forest & Bird, in a bid to raise people's awareness of New Zealand's natural birds. The annual Bird of the Year contest has been temporarily rebranded as "Bird of the Century" this year to celebrate the 100th birthday of Forest & Bird.

Dozens of campaign managers have signed up to back their favorite species, and Forest & Bird encourages people to share what they are voting for with their communities and friends, and on social media. People can vote for up to five birds.

The event has caught considerable interest from both home and abroad. After a two-week battle of the birds that will go down in history, the puteketeke now wears the coveted Bird of the Century crown atop its burnt-orange mullet.

"Puteketeke began as an outside contender for Bird of the Century but was catapulted to the top spot thanks to its unique looks, adorable parenting style, and propensity for puking," says Forest & Bird chief executive Nicola Toki.

"We're not surprised these charming characteristics caught the eye of an influential bird enthusiast with a massive following."

The native lake bird awkwardly danced its way to snag the title with the backing of British-American comedian John Oliver, along with his HBO television show Last Week Tonight and a giant puteketeke puppet.

Oliver's self-described "alarmingly aggressive" Bird of the Century campaign included billboards in Paris and Tokyo, and a dramatic appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in full-on grebe garb.

After Oliver launched this high-powered campaign, the voting verification system temporarily crashed, leading to a two-day delay in the winner announcement.

A record 350,000+ verified votes from 195 countries make 2023 the biggest year ever for the annual Bird of the Year competition, which has run since 2005. The previous record was 56,733 verified votes in 2021.

The puteketeke is one such bird under threat, with a classification of "Nationally Vulnerable" and New Zealand-wide population thought to be fewer than 1,000 birds. The species is also not faring well in Australia, with a combined population across the two countries perhaps less than 3,000.

But the situation was even more dire a few decades ago, with the puteketeke population dropping to a low of just 200 in the 1980s. Efforts such as the Lake Wanaka Grebe Project, which started with Forest & Bird member John Darby building a floating nest platform in 2013, have seen puteketeke begin to recover.

"Puteketeke deserves to be Bird of the Century in 2023 because their numbers have been slowly increasing, particularly in the upland Otago lakes," says Petrina Duncan, the grebe coordinator for Forest & Bird's Central Otago Lakes Branch.

"It's great to have a successful bird as an ambassador for all New Zealand birds to show that even threatened species can bounce back if we give them a hand."

Today, the Lake Wanaka Grebe Project has 15 active nest platforms and a team of volunteers. Over the last decade, they have seen more than 500 grebe chicks hatch and fledge. Enditem

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