‘Puking’ pūteketeke crowned New Zealand bird of the century after John Oliver campaign

Annual competition inundated with a record number of votes after comedian took the Australasian crested grebe under his wing

New Zealand has crowned a bird that grunts, pukes and has a highly unusual repertoire of mating rituals as its bird of the century.

The threatened Australasian crested grebe, or pteketeke, was thrown into the global spotlight by a powerful backer, British-American comedian and talkshow host John Oliver.