diff --git a/ci/images/bird/Containerfile b/ci/images/bird/Containerfile
index 5c399494..487f133c 100644
--- a/ci/images/bird/Containerfile
+++ b/ci/images/bird/Containerfile
@@ -9,14 +9,14 @@ FROM alpine:3.22@sha256:14358309a308569c32bdc37e2e0e9694be33a9d99e68afb0f5ff33cc
 # Config is read from /etc/bird/bird.conf, not the package default
 # /etc/bird.conf, so the mount cannot shadow what the package ships.
 #
-# curl and jq are for the init container, which renders the per-node peer list
-# from the Kubernetes API. busybox wget cannot verify against the API server's
-# CA bundle, and the query must not run unverified.
-RUN apk add --no-cache bird2 curl jq
+# kubectl renders the init container's per-node config: go-template-file for
+# the templating, a field selector for excluding the node itself, in-cluster
+# config for the auth. From the distro, so there is no version literal to drift
+# and no download to trust. It is only ever used to read core/v1 Nodes.
+RUN apk add --no-cache bird2 kubectl
 
 # Fails the build rather than the first pod if a binary or its path is wrong.
 RUN /usr/sbin/bird --version \
- && curl --version > /dev/null \
- && jq --version > /dev/null
+ && kubectl version --client > /dev/null
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/sbin/bird", "-f", "-c", "/etc/bird/bird.conf"]
diff --git a/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/bird.conf b/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/bird.conf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0586a15f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/bird.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+# Identical on every node and free of addresses. defines.conf and peers.conf
+# are rendered per node by the init container; the first is included above the
+# templates that reference it, the second below them.
+include "/etc/bird/defines.conf";
+
+router id from "pod0";
+log stderr all;
+
+# Mirrors of the kernel main table, filtered to this node's own pod CIDR.
+# master4/master6 are implicit and hold what BGP exchanges.
+ipv4 table kmain4;
+ipv6 table kmain6;
+
+protocol device { scan time 10; }
+
+# Two conditions. cilium_host also carries its own host address, which the
+# length check drops; and Cilium's routes for the OTHER nodes are protocol
+# kernel too, which the interface check drops. ifname is set for the
+# gatewayless IPv6 device route as well, so this works in both families.
+filter own_pod4 {
+  if ifname !~ "cilium_host" then reject;
+  if net.len = 32 then reject;
+  accept;
+}
+filter own_pod6 {
+  if ifname !~ "cilium_host" then reject;
+  if net.len = 128 then reject;
+  accept;
+}
+
+# learn all, not learn: plain learn skips routes marked proto kernel, which is
+# what Cilium's are.
+protocol kernel klearn4 {
+  learn all;
+  scan time 10;
+  ipv4 { table kmain4; import filter own_pod4; export none; };
+}
+protocol kernel klearn6 {
+  learn all;
+  scan time 10;
+  ipv6 { table kmain6; import filter own_pod6; export none; };
+}
+
+protocol pipe own4 { table kmain4; peer table master4; export all; import none; }
+protocol pipe own6 { table kmain6; peer table master6; export all; import none; }
+
+# Only BGP-learned routes reach table 48. The local CIDR stays in main, where
+# cilium_host already serves it.
+filter to_t48 {
+  if source != RTS_BGP then reject;
+  accept;
+}
+
+protocol kernel k48v4 {
+  kernel table 48;
+  metric 0;
+  ipv4 { table master4; import none; export filter to_t48; };
+}
+protocol kernel k48v6 {
+  kernel table 48;
+  metric 0;
+  ipv6 { table master6; import none; export filter to_t48; };
+}
+
+# iBGP over pod0. 64514 keeps clear of Cilium's 64513, which peers with the UDM
+# from ingress0 and is unrelated.
+#
+# No prefix filters: the only route this node offers is its own pod CIDR, which
+# own_pod4/6 already selected, and the only peers are the other cluster nodes.
+#
+# direct is explicit because iBGP defaults to multihop, which makes the gateway
+# recursive — BIRD would try to resolve the peer in the pod RIB. strict bind
+# keeps the listener off mgmt0 and ingress0.
+template bgp pod4 {
+  local as 64514;
+  source address MY4;
+  direct;
+  strict bind;
+  ipv4 { next hop self; import all; export all; };
+}
+template bgp pod6 {
+  local as 64514;
+  source address MY6;
+  direct;
+  strict bind;
+  ipv6 { next hop self; import all; export all; };
+}
+
+include "/etc/bird/peers.conf";
diff --git a/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/daemonset.yaml b/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/daemonset.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..75eace14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/daemonset.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ServiceAccount
+metadata:
+  name: bird
+  namespace: kube-system
+---
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: ClusterRole
+metadata:
+  name: bird
+rules:
+  # The peer list is read from the nodes' pod0 annotations, so no address is
+  # written into this repo twice.
+  - apiGroups: [""]
+    resources: ["nodes"]
+    verbs: ["get", "list"]
+---
+apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
+kind: ClusterRoleBinding
+metadata:
+  name: bird
+roleRef:
+  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
+  kind: ClusterRole
+  name: bird
+subjects:
+  - kind: ServiceAccount
+    name: bird
+    namespace: kube-system
+---
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: DaemonSet
+metadata:
+  name: bird
+  namespace: kube-system
+  labels:
+    tier: node
+    app: bird
+spec:
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app: bird
+  updateStrategy:
+    type: RollingUpdate
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        tier: node
+        app: bird
+    spec:
+      # Carries pod east-west once the routing rules land. Without it table 48
+      # stays empty and the rules fall through to main, i.e. back to VLAN 40.
+      priorityClassName: system-node-critical
+      # Writes host routes and peers on host addresses.
+      hostNetwork: true
+      serviceAccountName: bird
+      # Every node here is a control plane node, so this is not optional.
+      tolerations:
+        - operator: Exists
+          effect: NoSchedule
+      initContainers:
+        - name: render-config
+          image: gitea.renner.uno/gitea_admin/bird:2026-09-16
+          # The dated tag is rebuilt within the day it names.
+          imagePullPolicy: Always
+          command: ["/bin/sh", "-c"]
+          args:
+            - |
+              set -eu
+              cp /config/bird.conf /etc/bird/bird.conf
+              kubectl get node "$NODE_NAME" \
+                -o go-template-file=/config/defines.tmpl > /etc/bird/defines.conf
+              kubectl get nodes --field-selector "metadata.name!=$NODE_NAME" \
+                -o go-template-file=/config/peers.tmpl > /etc/bird/peers.conf
+              # BIRD's own parser is the check: a node whose annotation is
+              # missing renders as <no value> and fails here rather than
+              # crashlooping the daemon or forming a mesh with a hole.
+              bird -p -c /etc/bird/bird.conf
+          env:
+            - name: NODE_NAME
+              valueFrom:
+                fieldRef:
+                  fieldPath: spec.nodeName
+          volumeMounts:
+            - name: config
+              mountPath: /config
+            - name: etc-bird
+              mountPath: /etc/bird
+      containers:
+        - name: bird
+          image: gitea.renner.uno/gitea_admin/bird:2026-09-16
+          imagePullPolicy: Always
+          resources:
+            requests:
+              cpu: "50m"
+              memory: "32Mi"
+            limits:
+              cpu: "200m"
+              memory: "128Mi"
+          securityContext:
+            capabilities:
+              drop: ["ALL"]
+              # NET_ADMIN writes the routes; NET_BIND_SERVICE binds 179.
+              add: ["NET_ADMIN", "NET_BIND_SERVICE"]
+          volumeMounts:
+            - name: etc-bird
+              mountPath: /etc/bird
+      volumes:
+        - name: config
+          configMap:
+            name: bird-config
+        - name: etc-bird
+          emptyDir: {}
diff --git a/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/defines.tmpl b/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/defines.tmpl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..db8d6fb4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/defines.tmpl
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+define MY6 = {{ index .metadata.annotations "net.renner.uno/pod0-v6" }};
+define MY4 = {{ index .metadata.annotations "net.renner.uno/pod0-v4" }};
diff --git a/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/kustomization.yaml b/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/kustomization.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..447fbce2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/kustomization.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
+kind: Kustomization
+resources:
+  - daemonset.yaml
+configMapGenerator:
+  # Hashed name, so editing any of these rolls the DaemonSet.
+  - name: bird-config
+    namespace: kube-system
+    files:
+      - bird.conf
+      - defines.tmpl
+      - peers.tmpl
diff --git a/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/peers.tmpl b/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/peers.tmpl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..05e150a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kubernetes/infrastructure/bird/peers.tmpl
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{{- range $i, $n := .items -}}
+{{- $v6 := index $n.metadata.annotations "net.renner.uno/pod0-v6" -}}
+{{- $v4 := index $n.metadata.annotations "net.renner.uno/pod0-v4" -}}
+# {{ $n.metadata.name }}
+protocol bgp peer{{ $i }}_v6 from pod6 { neighbor {{ $v6 }} as 64514; }
+protocol bgp peer{{ $i }}_v4 from pod4 { neighbor {{ $v4 }} as 64514; }
+{{ end -}}
diff --git a/kubernetes/infrastructure/kustomization.yaml b/kubernetes/infrastructure/kustomization.yaml
index 9644948e..90da26c5 100644
--- a/kubernetes/infrastructure/kustomization.yaml
+++ b/kubernetes/infrastructure/kustomization.yaml
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ resources:
   - cluster-settings/
   - cilium/
   - multus/
+  - bird/
   - cert-manager/
   - snapshot-controller/
   - metrics-server/
diff --git a/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-1.yaml b/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-1.yaml
index b09369b3..cddd38c3 100644
--- a/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-1.yaml
+++ b/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-1.yaml
@@ -52,6 +52,12 @@ machine:
     # this label instead of listing hostnames, so which boxes carry storage is
     # stated once, here, by the machine that knows.
     storage.renner.uno/ceph-osd: "true"
+  # Publishes this node's pod0 addresses, declared below in its VLANConfig, so
+  # the bird DaemonSet reads its peers from the node list rather than from a
+  # copy. Annotations, not labels: a label value cannot contain a colon.
+  nodeAnnotations:
+    net.renner.uno/pod0-v6: fd02:48::11
+    net.renner.uno/pod0-v4: 10.2.48.11
   udev:
     # Renames every port this node uses to its role at boot, matched by
     # burned-in MAC — kernel names derive from PCI topology and shift when
diff --git a/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-2.yaml b/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-2.yaml
index 12c10cf1..cf3ad01c 100644
--- a/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-2.yaml
+++ b/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-2.yaml
@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ machine:
     topology.kubernetes.io/zone: saturn
     # Holds a Ceph OSD drive — see k8s-1.yaml.
     storage.renner.uno/ceph-osd: "true"
+  # pod0 addresses for the bird peer list — see k8s-1.yaml.
+  nodeAnnotations:
+    net.renner.uno/pod0-v6: fd02:48::12
+    net.renner.uno/pod0-v4: 10.2.48.12
   udev:
     # Renames every port to its role at boot — see k8s-1.yaml.
     rules:
diff --git a/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-3.yaml b/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-3.yaml
index 491eaf8c..5d8673e0 100644
--- a/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-3.yaml
+++ b/kubernetes/talos/patches/k8s-3.yaml
@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ machine:
     topology.kubernetes.io/zone: neptune
     # Holds a Ceph OSD drive — see k8s-1.yaml.
     storage.renner.uno/ceph-osd: "true"
+  # pod0 addresses for the bird peer list — see k8s-1.yaml.
+  nodeAnnotations:
+    net.renner.uno/pod0-v6: fd02:48::13
+    net.renner.uno/pod0-v4: 10.2.48.13
   udev:
     # Renames every port to its role at boot — see k8s-1.yaml.
     rules: