Remember when John Oliver appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s couch dressed as New Zealand’s native pūteketeke ? Now, he’s dedicated his Emmy win to last year’s Bird of the Century. Last year, The Last Week Tonight with John Oliver host campaigned tirelessly for the great crested grebe to win Forest and Bird’s Bird of the Year competition, renamed Bird of the Century to celebrate 100 years. It won with a record 290,374 votes thanks to global interference.
This year, it’s been succeeded by the hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin after voting closed on September 15, but Oliver hasn’t forgotten the pūteketeke - even dedicating his Emmy win yesterday to his favourite New Zealand bird. He was approached by Phil Keoghan, New Zealand-born host of the US version of The Amazing Race , at the ceremony yesterday. As the pair spoke on camera, Keoghan informed him of the results of this year’s Bird of the Year competition.
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