'What's your favourite bird?' is almost impossible to answer. I am always torn | Sean Dooley

When framing the shortlist for the 2023 bird of the year, we opted for familiar Aussie birds that hold a special place in our heartsThe Australian bird of the year poll launches today, 25 September 2023Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThose of us who work at Birdlife Australia get asked a lot of questions about birds. Usually, it's to ID a mystery back yard bird. (Nine times out of 10 it's a butcherbird!) Occasionally we get thrown a much curlier question such as "Is a cassowary a bird?", "Do birds have penises?" or "What's your favourite bird?".The answers are: "yes", "females don't, but neither do males of most species - they have a cloaca, which is a topic for another day". And the last question is almost impossible to answer. How can you possibly choose?Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundupSean Dooley is national public affairs manager for BirdLife AustraliaYou can vote in the bird of the year poll from 6am Monday 25 September to 11.59pm Thursday 5 October Continue reading...