FIVE THINGS ABOUT THE GRAY JAY
1 NATIONAL BIRD
The Royal Canadian Geographic Society, which conducted a twoyear search for a fitting avian representative, and announced the winner Wednesday night. The government would need to pass legislation for it to be the official national bird.
2 WHAT IS A GRAY JAY?
The gray jay, once known as the Canada jay and the “wisakedjak” in indigenous cultures — or whiskey jack — is found in the boreal forests of every province and territory but nowhere else on the planet. The robinsized cousin of the raven and crow has the same brain-to-body ratio as dolphins and chimpanzees, is lauded for its friendliness and intelligence, spends its entire life in the woods — and has been observed incubating eggs in temperatures as low as -30 C.
3 WHY SHOULD IT WIN?
“It’s a wonderful poster child for the boreal forest, our national and provincial parks and for climate change,” said ornithologist David Bird, part of the expert panel that helped debate the final choice.
4 DID IT WIN THE VOTE?
The gray jay actually came third behind the loon and the snowy owl, but was chosen following a public debate and deliberations by the panel. It muscled out higher-profile contenders, including the black-capped chickadee and Canada goose, in a contest that attracted almost 50,000 online voters. Bird noted that, among the other finalists, the loon is already Ontario’s provincial bird, the snowy owl is Quebec’s bird and the black-capped chickadee is New Brunswick’s.
5 CHIRPING THE LOSERS
“My feeling is that when we chose the flag of Canada, we did not elevate the provincial flag from Ontario or from Quebec or from New Brunswick,” Bird said. “We chose something fresh and new. And that’s what I think we need to do with a national bird.”