Australia's bird of the year is the enemy of children and cyclists

It wasn't just Moonlight that swooped in by surprise at an awards ceremony.

Earlier this year, New Zealanders voted for the kea as their favourite bird, a cheeky olive-green parrot. Aussies have opted for a bird that's the enemy of cyclists, walkers and children everywhere.

The magpie has been selected as the bird of the year in a poll run by The Guardian, winning with 19,926 votes -- 13.3 percent of the vote's total.

You wouldn't call the magpie a charming bird. It's known for its aggression, especially around mating season in late August to late October, and is notorious for swooping at people that cross its path.

Aside from that, perhaps there were more impressive birds that should've won the coveted prize -- or nicer ones, at least.

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Look, if there was one redeeming feature about the magpie, perhaps it'd be its rather pleasing call.

Australians appear to have a soft spot for the underdog (or bird, we should say). Coming in second place with 19,083 votes was the white ibis, famed for eating out of garbage bins and little else.

The laughing kookaburra, an actual national icon, came in third place. Here's the full list below, if you can even stomach democracy anymore.

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