Entertainers dressed as lumberjacks perform during the closing ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at BC Place on February 28, 2010.Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
A compassionate crow with a big brain, a hawk with Hollywood connections and a loon that decorates our dollar are among the birds being touted as the country's new national symbol to compete with the beaver.
In addition to the short-beaked crow, the red-tailed hawk and the common loon, the other candidates are the trumpeter swan and, of course, the Canada goose.
The Mark, an on-line publication, is asking readers to vote on which of the five birds should become Canada's national symbol as the Canadian Raptor Conservancy is urging the Harper government to name a national bird.
"Which bird do you think would boost our national identity?" The Mark asks. "Which would you be proud to see on postcards and in plush? Which would look great as a giant inflatable at our next Olympic Games?"
Five bird experts defended their nominees as follows:
1. Short-beaked crow. Writer and crow advocate Carla Gunn notes they have huge brains (next to macaws) and are compassionate birds - they hold funerals for their dead. "Crows care for one another. Crows also have the capacity to care for other species, as evidenced by observations of wild crows feeding sick or abandoned animals (in one well-documented case, a kitten)."
2 . Red-tailed hawk. Bird artist Barry MacKay writes that the "Americans have their bald eagle, a scavenger that sometimes takes live prey, but the red-tailed hawk is a true hunter, specializing in voles, ground squirrels, and other rodents and cottontails, helping to keep in check the numbers of these animals, much to the delight of the enlightened farmer." Not only that - and here's the movie star connection - the hawk's voice, Mr. MacKay says, "epitomizes wilderness, and its keening cry is often dubbed into movies to falsely represent the call of eagles."
3. Canada goose. They are the origin of the Christmas goose, according to author Dave Ankney, professor emeritus of avian ecology at the University of Western Ontario. Although they are not perfect (they are a nuisance), he argues, "they more than make up for it with all the pleasure they give us when we first heard their familiar 'honking' call in the spring."
4. Trumpeter swan. It was nominated by urban issue expert Alan Broadbent because he so obviously hates the Canada goose. The swan is the "only effective combatant of the Canada goose … The trumpeter swan grabs the neck of the Canada goose and holds its head underwater until it drowns. The Canada goose, offering a lot of neck to work with, doesn't stand a chance."
5. Common loon. "If Canadians are to have a national bird - and I believe we should - there are clear and compelling reasons why the common loon is the logical choice," writes Tim Stewart, an author and investment consultant. "There is the loonie, flying high at the moment, and the fact that loons, though present throughout the country, are never overabundant like Canada geese."
So far the loon is winning the on-line vote followed by the Canada goose. We asked some politicians to weigh in but have not heard back - when (and if) we do, we will fill you in on their choices.