Hi all In Sweden, the Swedish Ornithological Society (SOF) is currently organising a voluntary vote to determine the national bird of Sweden. This was done once before in the early 1960s by a newspaper and the blackbird was elected! This shows that the national bird does not have to be an endemic but a species that people can relate to in their daily lives. For Australia, my suggestion for the national bird is the House sparrow. Like most of us, its ancestors came from Britain and Europe and adapted to a strange new land. Its chirp is familiar to us all. It breeds prolifically just like us and eats just about anything it can scrounge from Big Mac crusts to discarded diet biscuits. I bet it already has a local dialect now different from those back in the Old Dart. And its limited colours would save on printing costs in this eco-friendly age. cheers Andrew
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There are loads of House Sparrows in Altona on the west side of Melbourne. Maybe there used to be more of them, I don’t know. Peter Shute
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Lovely piece about the Whooper Swan, Harry, I think the Emu is probably a good candidate for our National Bird. Not used by any state, found or used to be found in almost every habitat in Australia (I think) and iconic. The fact that it features on our coat of arms is a happy coincidence. Happy Birding Elizabeth Shaw Phillip Island Victoria —–Original Message—– Sent: Monday, March 23, 2015 7:34 PM Cc: Birding-Aus Wim, In that regard, I would like thank you for all the lovely Dippers we get during winters. 😉 Although, we too have our own breeding population of Dippers. But back to the subject: In Finland, the national bird is the Whooper Swan (not even close to endemic), which to me is still quite self-explanatory. It is as white as the snow in winters, and even the Finnish flag supports the decision: blue cross on white background (the same colors when a Whooper Swan is seen flying across the blue skies). I think that is the reason why Finnish people relate to it so easily. It of course helps that it is a giant but elegant white bird. But the real reason for it being our national bird is probably due the conservation effort put into it. During the late 40s – early 50s, the Whooper Swan population in Finland was down to only 30-40 individuals (about 15 pairs) due to hunting. Although it was protected already in 1934, only the education of people by a few but loud individuals (especially Yrjö Kokko, the vet of the municipality of Muonio) led to the steady increase of its numbers starting from 60s to this date. Nowadays there are approximately 10 000 breeding pairs of Whooper Swans in Finland! And, incidentally, the hunters are again lobbying for adding it to the list of huntable species… To me, as a foreigner, the most iconic Australian birds are probably Laughing Kookaburra and Emu, so either one would fit well as your national bird. Nevertheless, it’s yours to decide.
Cheers, -Harry 2015-03-23 10:04 GMT+02:00 Vader Willem Jan Marinus < wim.vader@uit.no>:
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Det var ikke bra, selv om det er sannheten! !!!!! That wasn’t nice, although it’s the truth!!!!!!! Sonja On 23/03/2015, at 7:04 PM, Vader Willem Jan Marinus < wim.vader@uit.no> wrote:
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Wim, In that regard, I would like thank you for all the lovely Dippers we get during winters. 😉 Although, we too have our own breeding population of Dippers. But back to the subject: In Finland, the national bird is the Whooper Swan (not even close to endemic), which to me is still quite self-explanatory. It is as white as the snow in winters, and even the Finnish flag supports the decision: blue cross on white background (the same colors when a Whooper Swan is seen flying across the blue skies). I think that is the reason why Finnish people relate to it so easily. It of course helps that it is a giant but elegant white bird. But the real reason for it being our national bird is probably due the conservation effort put into it. During the late 40s – early 50s, the Whooper Swan population in Finland was down to only 30-40 individuals (about 15 pairs) due to hunting. Although it was protected already in 1934, only the education of people by a few but loud individuals (especially Yrjö Kokko, the vet of the municipality of Muonio) led to the steady increase of its numbers starting from 60s to this date. Nowadays there are approximately 10 000 breeding pairs of Whooper Swans in Finland! And, incidentally, the hunters are again lobbying for adding it to the list of huntable species… To me, as a foreigner, the most iconic Australian birds are probably Laughing Kookaburra and Emu, so either one would fit well as your national bird. Nevertheless, it’s yours to decide.
Cheers, -Harry 2015-03-23 10:04 GMT+02:00 Vader Willem Jan Marinus < wim.vader@uit.no>:
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Yes Anthea I have not seen any in Blackburn South (East Melbourne) for at least 9-10 years Cheers Mike =================== Michael Tarburton tarburton.m@optusnet.com.au ===================
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There are no sparrows here in the Top End. Denise Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 043 8650 835 PhD candidate, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW. Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia Nominated by Earthfoot for Condé Nast’s International Ecotourism Award, 2004. With every introduction of a plant or animal that goes feral this continent becomes a little less unique, a little less Australian. On 23 Mar 2015, at 4:35 pm, brian fleming < flambeau@labyrinth.net.au> wrote:
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House Sparrows have been successfully excluded from Western Australia! And they are getting rarer every year in the rest of the continent. Anthea Fleming On 23/03/2015 3:18 PM, Andrew Thelander wrote:
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Hi A purely spurious / tongue firmly in cheek couple of suggestions. Not sure if they would be eligible as may not be a self sustaining population but what about the Ostrich…apt for the current Govt who consistently bury their heads in the sand on environmental and other issues.. Or possibly the Brush Turkey… Dom On 23 Mar 2015 2:18 pm, “Andrew Thelander” < thelander.a@gmail.com> wrote:
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