After a two-year vote to help choose a bird that could best represent Canada, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society stunned many by over the first-place common loon as its candidate. And then the with an online backlash.
Why the gray jay? First, this little bird (Perisoreus canadensis) is found in every province and territory in Canada, and save for some small incursions into the US, its distribution practically mirrors our borders. Second, it was not already claimed as an official bird for any other geographical entity.
The common loon, which topped the public vote, has been Ontario’s official avian for eons, the second-place snowy owl is Quebec’s, and the black-capped chickadee (fifth place) represents New Brunswick. When we selected our , we did not elevate the flags of any of these provinces to national status – we chose something fresh and new, one that Canadians are proud of today.
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Embodying Canadians
As for the character and quality of the gray jay, you could not find a more Canadian bird. First, as a member of the corvid family (crows, ravens, magpies and jays), it is arguably one of the smartest birds on the planet. Second, the gray jay is extremely tough and hardy. By not leaving the country in winter, it has adapted to not only survive our harsh winters but is able to incubate its eggs at -30°C.
Third, gray jays are very friendly, readily and ski poles without training. Fourth, unlike most birds, these jays are not promiscuous and mating pairs do not cheat on one another. They remain together year-round, often flying together and perching side by side touching one another. So we’ve got “smart”, “hardy”, “friendly” and “loyal”. What greater way to describe the typical Canadian?
It gets better. Many Canadians best know this bird by its First Nations name, the whiskey jack – nothing to do with the beverage, but an meaning “mischievous prankster”. Yes, it does have the cheeky, cute and opportunistic habit of pilfering food from bags, pantries and picnic baskets, but First Nations folks revere the whiskey jack as an omen of good fortune and for its call warning of danger from predators. In the end, we can call our bird whatever we like, even the Canada jay, its former common name.
Poster child
Maybe part of the reason there was a backlash against its selection is that the gray jay is not immediately identifiable to most Canadians. Rather than coming to feed in gardens, it is a denizen of our boreal forest that extends from coast to coast.
To meet the gray jay, Canadians simply have to get out there hiking and skiing in our national and provincial parks And because the gray jay is highly dependent on cold winters to keep its stored food from rotting, you could not find a better poster child for the need to stave off climate change.
All that’s left now is to convince the federal government to buy in by announcing the gray jay as our national bird for the country’s celebration in 2017.
