Hohio or yellow-eyed penguin is an early front runner. Photo: AFP
People "put their positivity hat on" for birds - in contrast to voting for politicians, the Bird of the Year organiser says.
Voting for the 2024 winner gets under way next week.
US talkshow host John Oliver ran an aggressive campaign which carried the pūteketeke to a landslide win in last year's Bird of the Century competition.
The bird also known as the Australasian crested grebe captured nearly 300,000 votes from 190 countries.
Bird of the Year returns for 2024
Forest and Bird chief executive Nicola Toki said there were no plans to send the competition global this year, however, it often went "a little bit haywire".
"We do know that people across the country are super-excited for Bird of the Year. ... Politics drives us all mad but when it comes to voting in Bird of the Year everyone gets to put their positivity hat on."
It was fascinating already 60 volunteer campaign managers had signed up to handle the campaigns for 72 birds, Toki said.
They would mostly use social media to push voting for their particular birds.
Adélie penguins aren't often seen in New Zealand waters but are eligible for this year's competition. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Adélie penguins which live in the Antarctic have been allowed to "slip through" into the competition in part because a few have been rare visitors to New Zealand shores.
"However, a third of the Adélie population lives in the Ross Sea which is where the Antarctic New Zealand team are based when they're working down there."
Toki singled out the hohio as an early front runner, saying many in the Dunedin community, including Otago Museum and Emmersons Brewery, were getting in behind it.
"Which is good, because that one is particularly in trouble, and on that note, 80 percent of our birds are in trouble."
She said it was great to see Kiwis celebrate native birds and join organisations such as Forest and Bird to learn more about them.