New Zealand reporter has bird fly into her face, leaving her bloodied

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New Zealand reporter has bird fly into her face, leaving her bloodied

Former Miss New Zealand Jess Tyson spoke to NBC's TODAY show about the incident

Lindsay Kornick Fox News

Published

December 7, 2025 9:00pm EST

Video

Large bird flies into reporter's face while she's filming

A bird flew directly into a reporter's face while she was filming a segment, leaving her face slightly bloodied but otherwise unharmed.

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A bird shocked New Zealand journalist Jess Tyson when it flew into her face as she filmed a news segment.

Tyson, who works for the show "Te Ao with Moana" on New Zealand's Whakaata Māori channel, shared a video clip of herself on Facebook reporting about "fast fashion" in New Zealand a few weeks ago. As she was about to film another take, a seagull suddenly flew into her face.

According to her post, the bird appeared unharmed while she was rushed to a nearby corporate office for treatment. Another photo she shared showed that she received a bloody cut across her right eyelid but was otherwise OK.

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A seagull flew into Jess Tyson's face while she was filming a segment for "Te Ao with Moana." (iStock)

"POV: Just trying to do your job but nature has other plans," Tyson wrote in the video's text.

Tyson later spoke about the incident on NBC's "TODAY" Show on Friday, saying it was the first time something like it had happened while she was on the job.

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"Before it happened I was focusing so hard on trying to get my lines right so when the bird hit me it was such a huge shock!" Tyson said. "The impact itself was most surprising and felt like a heavy pillow was being smacked onto my face. Then next minute I started bleeding,"

Jessica Tyson had previously been Miss New Zealand in 2018. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

Tyson told TODAY that she returned to film shortly after being treated.

"I didn’t have to continue, but I decided I wanted to because I wasn’t happy with my first takes," Tyson said.

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She added that she was mostly happy that her team was able to "show the evidence" of the incident and has largely taken the moment in stride.

Jess Tyson said that both she and the bird were largely unharmed after the incident. (iStock)

"I am doing fine now and have a small scar to show the evidence and [a] hilarious story," Tyson said.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Whakaata Māori and Maori Plus for comment.

Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick.

New Zealand reporter has bird fly into her face, leaving her bloodied