Tag Archive | Canada Jay

Oh Canada Jay!

By Cathy Warwick.

Canada has an unofficially “official” bird and it is the Canada Jay, also known as the Gray Jay. It was chosen after an online poll by the Canadian Geographic Magazine in 2016 but our government never formally adopted it as our national bird. The Canada Jay definitely lives in Canada, if you look at the range map of this bird it looks like someone, very poorly, highlighted our country on a map. It is in every province and territory from sea to shining sea. 

Canada Jay
Canada Jay, Wikimedia Commons: Folini CC BY-SA 3.0

If you have ever been hiking in our beautiful mountains you probably have seen the Canada Jay in the forested areas. As you walk you may have noticed some swooping shapes following you in the trees. You sit down for lunch and remark on the sweet birds watching you from the trees. Look at those expressive eyes! Its head will dart around, appearing to size you up. You may have thought you were having a special nature moment. Then you may have noticed your sandwich fly off, as I have at Chester Lake, never to be seen again. Nicknames for the Canada Jay include “camp robber” and “venison-hawk”. Now when I see one on a hike I yell as if we are under attack, “Incoming!”

Canada Jay
A very tame Canada Jay. Photo by Dan Arndt.

The latin name of this bird is “Perisoreus canadensis”, the nod to Canada was built right into the name and it was originally called a ‘Canada Jay’. However in 1957 the American Ornithological Society changed this bird’s name to the americanized “Gray Jay”. They righted this wrong in 2018, flip flopping it back to Canada Jay at the urging of Dan Strickland, famed Algonquin Park naturalist. Another name is the anglicized ‘Whiskyjack’ which comes from the names used by Indigenous Tribes. The Whiskyjack is the star of many legends and stories passed down through generations of First Nations people.

The Canada Jay is very loyal to Canada, it sticks with us all winter. Dan Strickland was instrumental in discovering one of the strategies that helps it through the cold days. It stores food in the summer months by using sticky saliva to glue it to high tree branches. This bird also has feathers all over its body, including its nostrils, and can puff them up to make a cosy full body parka. It also helps that it will eat almost anything: seeds, insects, frogs, small mammals, trail mix, sandwiches, you name it. 

Canada Jay
Canada Jay, Photo by Dan Arndt.

With their expressive black eyes and fluffy grey feathers they are ‘deceptively cute’ according to All About Birds, which really could describe Canadians also. So to the Canada Jay: “We Stand on Guard for Thee” – if we don’t stand guard you will probably steal our sandwiches.

Should the Canada Jay be Named our Country’s Official Bird?

You can help with this effort to establish the Canada Jay as our official bird!

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

There was a lot of interest locally in the recent voting for Calgary’s Official Bird, which was won by the Black-capped Chickadee. But as of today, Canada does not have an official National Bird. There is a strong movement, spearheaded by Dr. David Bird, to name the Canada Jay as our national avain representative. Dr. Bird and his team make a strong case.

Canada Jay
Canada Jay. Formerly called the Gray Jay, and known by many as Whiskyjack.
Photo by Kent Ladell, SW Alberta.

Here is the press release that details the reasons for supporting this effort.

CANADIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS CALL ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR A NATIONAL BIRD!!

On June 9, 2022, a copy of a promotional book entitled “The Canada Jay as Canada’s National Bird?” has been given to each and every one of Canada’s 338 federal Members of Parliament, including The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, and The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada.  The prime message in the classy-looking colourful book of 80 pages is to encourage the federal government to take steps to adopt a National Bird for Canada, and hopefully to take it a step further — to make that bird the Canada Jay!
 
Why does Canada even need a National Bird, you may well ask?
One in five Canadians spends an average a third of their year watching, feeding, and/or photographing birds, representing big bucks for our economy!  Birds also eat pests, pollinate our plants and crops, disperse seeds; their eggs and meat (yes, chickens are birds!) feed us and their feathers keep us warm. Birds save human lives by globally warning us of environmental health hazards such as carcinogenic pesticides and industrial by-products. As for their intrinsic value, how many great writers, artists, film makers, and even aviators and astronauts have been inspired by the beauty, the song and the flight of these amazing unique creatures?! Wikipedia’s List of National Birds indicates that 106 of the world’s 195 countries have official birds. For example, the U.S. takes a lot of national pride in their National Bird — the Bald Eagle. But Canada is not in the list — we do not have one! Yet our country does have national symbols – the beaver, the maple tree, two sports and even a national horse! But alas — no official bird.

For a National Bird for Canada, one could not find a more Canadian bird than the aptly named Canada Jay! This very smart corvid breeds in every province and territory and its range almost mirrors our country’s borders. It is extremely friendly, often landing on an outstretched palm and it is extremely hardy – often incubating eggs at -20 degrees C, resides year-round in our country, and is found in all provinces! Its French name is le mésangeai du Canada and its popular name, whiskyjack, is derived from one of the largest indigenous language groups in Canada. Canada Jays have played a prominent role in both Indigenous culture and our country’s history. Importantly, unlike the Common Loon (Ontario) and the Snowy Owl (Quebec), Canada Jays are not the bird of any province!

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The Book Canada Jay, The The National Bird of Canada? can be ordered at Amazon.ca here. It will be published on July 1 (Canada Day!) but you can pre-order it now. All profits from its sales are going to non-profit bird conservation organizations.

More information on this effort can be found on the website CanadaJay.org. There is also a petition on Change.org that you can sign here. They have already surpassed the goal of 15,000 signatures, and now are trying to reach 25,000.