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The public chose their favorite from 8 chonky contestants during an effort to raise awareness about the plight of Wisconsin's native birds
The public has spoken - "Spherical White-throated Sparrow" received the most votes during this year's Wisconsin Fat Bird Week online contest and has been crowned the official winner.
From May 2-9, people were invited to vote daily for their favorite bulbous bird in the bracket-style elimination tournament. The contest is similar to March Madness, but for Wisconsin's native birds.
The sparrow received 72% of votes cast in the final round, flying his way to victory against the runner-up, "Rotund Ruby-throated Hummingbird" who received 28%.
The other contestants Wisconsin Fat Bird Week bracket were:
• Neckless Northern Cardinal (eliminated in Round 1)
• Dark-eyed Junco in the Trunko (eliminated in Round 5)
• Enormous Eastern Bluebird (eliminated in Round 3)
• Pudgy Pine Warbler(eliminated in Round 4)
• Round Yellow-rumped Warbler (eliminated in Round 2)
• Well-fed Yellow Warbler (eliminated in Round 6)
The contest was hosted by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and SOS Save Our Songbirds. While people "weighed in" with their votes, the organizations shared fun facts about Wisconsin's native birds and how to keep them fat and healthy. Throughout the contest, voters were encouraged to prevent window collisions, plant native plants, buy bird-friendly coffee, and go birding during the Great Wisconsin Birdathon event.
For more information and to see all this year's contestants, visit WisConservation.org/FatBirdWeek.