or gray jay or Canada jay ... by any name,

The whisky jack may soon become Canada's national bird.

Also check out Wikipedia's entry: Gray jay.

That would have been a tough call for me with those entries on the ballot.

I would easily have written off the black capped chickadee as I see them in my back yard almost daily. Snowy owl somehow seems more norse, belongs in northern europe somewhere, finland or norway or sweden etc? The common loon or the obvious choice Canada Goose both look like strong contenders. I think I may have heard of the Whiskey Jack in the past but couldn't identify it. Honestly I can't believe the Canadian Goose lost.

The jack is also a bit of an odd pick - something like this is a national symbol, usually they go for animals that project a bold, powerful image. (like America's Bald Eagle) Looks like it'd make a funny cartoon panel, the chickadee squaring off against the eagle... heh.

love this cartoon, published shortly after 9/11:
http://wavethemes.net/gallery/var/albums...or-by-breen.jpg

Or buck tradition and make the Moose your national bird, we'd forgive you for it! Nothing says "Canada" quite like "have you seen my moose?"

and on that note... my neighbor visited canada and brought back one of these
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/191478626815-0-1/s-l1000.jpg

Then you haven't had the dubious pleasure of being on their "slip-and-slide" in urban parks. Or been on the receiving end of a gander's defense of territory.


Just remember that the eagle is in essence a scavenger — a visual image which has gained new meaning in the US in recent days.

And a lot of communities are embarking on major culls in an effort to reduce the deposits.


Although it could be argued that the gander's bravery against even great odds, not only in defense of territory but in the protection of its family, is the kind of trait that one would want in a national symbol.

Well, we almost had the Turkey... (B Franklin was lobbying hard for it iirc) so I'm satisfied that we ended up with the eagle.

As for scavenger, I'd only agree with that in part. It depends on the specific type you're talking about of course, but they're not quite as exclusive to that method as say, a vulture. (many of them do a lot of fishing) Sure they're opportunists, but those talons aren't there for picking roadkill off the asphalt, and they have no problem at all taking down their own food, unlike say a vulture. Never mind the pointy bits, they have unbelievable muscle to drive them home. Friend of mine looked into falconry and one guy he met that was teaching it didn't directly handle much anymore because he got the bones in one shoulder turned into crushed gravel by an eagle that got a little too excited over something one time and decided to give him a squeeze before taking off.

my god.... they're so large they seriously don't even look REAL:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CbFqE4YW8AAqjww.jpg


We've got a good amount of them around here (more ducks though) and I don't play that "run away from the terrifying beast!" game with a canadian. It'll get a shovel kick to send it back a few yards as a reminder of it's position on the food chain, and if it tries again it's going through a goalpost downrange. (same for stay dogs that charge, though with slightly more malice when they're larger and better armed)

But they DO look powerful!

(And in the end, we got the Turkey! Old Ben must be spinning like a top. )

They'll pull goats off cliffs and "make their own roadkill". Or just plain fly away with a sloth. Fun videos on youtube.