Canada Goes To The Birds

I’ll admit it; I had no idea that Canada doesn't have a national bird. Of course, it wasn’t exactly something that was high on my priority list of things to think about. But now that I’ve given it some thought, I think it’s about time we picked a bird to represent our country and it appears others feel that way as well.

A movement has begun to choose the bird that will best represent Canada.

We have national sports with both hockey and lacrosse and national…OK, I only can think of the national sports right now but I’m sure we have other national things.

So what bird should we choose to represent our great country?

The front-runner, according to any of the articles I’ve read, is the Red-tailed Hawk. This isn’t a bad choice as it can be found in almost all areas. Plus they look cool and rather majestic when they’re soaring on air thermals while hunting for food. It was a good idea, until I heard that Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty liked it. He just had to throw his support behind it because it had Liberal red in the name. Does the Hawk also lie when it makes promises to not raise taxes? If so then I guess it would be a good representative of the Liberals. It won’t get my vote.

I believe there are a few other possible choices that are being overlooked.

How about the “Common Loon?” Canadians are known the world over as being funny and with our Loonie for currency I think it could make a nice match. Plus the call of the Loon is a loud, wailing laugh or yodel which fits in with that theme as well. And the colours of the Loon are political party neutral so nobody can claim it backs one side over another.

The “Canada Goose” is too obvious. Sure they look cool when they’re flying in formation but when you get a whole flock of them in one place on the ground, well, lets just say you don’t want to be caught in your bare feet. No I think we'll pass on the Canada Goose because I think it's too obvious as well.

A bird with some attitude and solid work ethic might also be a good representative of Canada. The “Pileated Woodpecker” comes to mind. Found all across the lower half of Canada, no other woodpecker that I know of can knock the crap out of a tree like the Pileated one. It’s large like the country with a black body and red crest and cap on the head. Plus when it’s done attacking a tree, just like the Canadian Forces, it doesn’t leave any bad stuff behind.

When I get right down to it and after much consideration, I believe there’s one bird above all others that would be an excellent choice as our national bird. That winged representative would be the “Osprey.”

A bird of prey, the Osprey lives exclusively on fish and of course fishing is a huge part of Canadian industry and culture. It’s a beautiful and graceful bird like most Canadians. It’s a fairly large raptor growing up to 61cm (2ft) in length and has a wing span up to 183cm (6ft). The bird is white and brown in colour and can be found soaring on thermals between wing beats. Yes, I think the Osprey would be a great representative of our country.

To be honest, it came down to a choice between the Osprey and another much smaller bird. I thought the “Mourning Dove” would be a good choice, but then I remembered how much I want to kill them in the mornings when I’m trying to sleep and all I can hear is that annoying repetitive sound they make. It makes me want to rip my ears off. Ya…I think the Osprey was the better choice.