Canada choosing national bird

Canada doesn't have a national bird, and it wants one.

Until 2017, citizens of that country can vote for one of 40 nominees chosen by "Canadian Geographic," the magazine of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Other candidates can be suggested.

On the National Bird Project website (www.canadiangeographic.ca is an essay encouraging people to skip the obvious species, like Common Loon, Snowy Owl, and Canada Goose, and vote for an "underbird." The list contains some good candidates in that category.

Black-backed Woodpecker is an example. You'd think Canadians would want to vote for a bird they have a reasonable chance of seeing. Ditto Spruce Grouse. Common Murre is another, perhaps good for observant coastal Canadians, but less so for inlanders. Glaucous Gull is a candidate, interesting in that gulls hardly ever get much respect, all of them seen by most folks as "seagulls."

There are 12 songbird candidates, three gamebirds, three woodpeckers, one hummingbird, four species found on water, plus Belted Kingfisher, the gull, the Arctic Tern, plus Great Blue Heron, Whooping Crane, and Sandhill Crane. Semipalmated Sandpiper is on the list. It would require explanation of semipalmated. There are nine raptors, including Snowy, Great Gray, and Northern Saw-whet owls.

My choices would be Canada Warbler, too obvious perhaps, but a beauty, Arctic Tern, or Great Gray Owl.

The owl suits the country -- quiet, dignified, with a no-nonsense approach to life. Another candidate, the Common Raven, shares those qualities, plus strictly minds its own business.

Underbirds are not doing well so far. Glaucous Gull has 11 votes, the sandpiper 20, Common Murre 16, the woodpecker 23, and Harris's Sparrow 16. All seem longshots.

Here is one of the birds unlikely to be chosen, the Glaucous Gull.