Canada Jay as Canada’s National Bird?

 Canada has a national tree (the maple), a national mammal (the beaver), two national sports (lacrosse and hockey) and even a national horse (the Canadian), but it does not yet have an official bird. Birds are important to Canadians. Besides contributing big bucks to our economy via the fast-growing hobbies of birdwatching and bird-feeding, birds provide a number of direct services, e.g. pollinators, food, clothing, etc. They also add intrinsic value by inspiring artists and aviators. The Canada Jay breeds in every province and territory and its range almost mirrors our country’s borders. It is a tough bird, not migrating like most other birds and able to breed in very cold temperatures. As a member of the corvid family (e.g. crows, ravens, etc.), they are arguably the smartest birds on the planet! These amazingly friendly, trusting and curious birds will also happily land on your head or hand! Best of all, the Canada Jay has not been chosen as an official bird for any geographical entity to date! Join Dr. David Bird, Emeritus Professor of Wildlife Biology at McGill University, as he chronicles the quest to make the Canada Jay the national bird of our country. He has headed a national team to try and make that happen, hopefully by Canada Day this year.

Dr. Bird (yes, that’s his real name!) has published close to 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers and supervised 50 graduate students on a wide range of wildlife themes, mostly on birds of prey and in more recent years, the application of UAVs (drones) to wildlife research and conservation. Until his retirement to Vancouver Island in 2013, he taught several university-level courses, including ornithology, wildlife conservation, animal behaviour and scientific/public communication.  He has written and/or edited more than ten books, the most recent ones being various editions of Birds of Canada, Birds of Eastern Canada and Birds of Western Canada, Pocket Birds of Canada. He has been the recipient of several awards and honours over the years, but perhaps the most special is the Doris Spiers Award given to him by the SCO in 2013 for his outstanding lifetime contributions to Canadian ornithology.

This presentation will be aired via Zoom Video Conferencing. On the Monday preceding the event, Nature Vancouver members will receive the Zoom link in the weekly e-News. To join the talk on Thursday, click on that link after 7:15 pm. The talk will begin at 7:30 pm. Non-members are welcome and should Email denis@naturevancouver.ca well in advance to register for the link.