Voting for the 2024 Bird of the Year competition closes on Sunday.

Environmental charity Forest & Bird, which runs the contest, said nearly 40,000 verified votes had been cast so far.

That was around 300,000 fewer than last year when the competition was hijacked by US talk show host John Oliver, with hundreds of thousands of votes pouring in from around the globe to support Oliver's pick, the pūteketeke.

The winning bird will be announced on RNZ's Morning Report on Monday.

Forest & Bird spokesperson Ellen Rykers urged more people to vote before then.

"It's a chance to celebrate our amazing native birds, but it's also an opportunity to highlight that more than 80 percent of them are in trouble, or serious trouble, and they really need our help."

According to the most recent voting snapshot on Wednesday, the hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin) was the frontrunner in this year's campaign, Rykers said.

"But it was a very tight race, with the karure - Chatham Islands black robin - coming in second, so who knows what these votes over the last few days - that have been pouring in - how they're going to affect the final outcome?"

This year's competition had more of a homegrown feel, she said.

"We have seen some amazing support from some New Zealand celebrities this year. So Sam Neill just endorsed the pukunui - the southern NZ dotterel - and .. Paddy Gower's just supported the Adélie penguin."

Bird lovers can cast their ballots for up to five birds on the online poll, from a selection of 74 "candidates".

Voting closes at 5pm.

Main image (Facebook): The pūteketeke - or Australiasian crested grebe - won the coveted Bird of the Century crown atop its burnt-orange mullet after last year's vote.