Birds Canada, formerly known as Bird Studies Canada, is a national charitable organization that was founded in 1960 to support the study and conservation of wild birds and their habitats in Canada and elsewhere around the world. Their logo features a single bird in flight. But what specific species of bird is depicted in their iconic logo?
The History and Work of Birds Canada
Birds Canada was originally called the Long Point Bird Observatory when it was established in 1960 by a group of scientists and naturalists near Long Point, Ontario. Their goal was to band migratory birds to study their populations and migratory patterns over time. In the 1980s, their scope expanded across Canada, and they became the Long Point Bird Observatory and Canadian Migration Monitoring Network. This reflected their growing national network of migration monitoring stations and associated conservation programs.
In 1994, they changed their name to Bird Studies Canada to better reflect their national scope and growing expertise. Over the decades, their work expanded to include a wide array of bird research, monitoring, education, and conservation activities across Canada. Their projects now span bird banding, migration monitoring, breeding bird surveys, bird colonies monitoring, Important Bird Areas designations, bird-friendly guidelines, citizen science programs, and more. Their data contributes to bird conservation throughout the Western Hemisphere.
In 2019, they rebranded themselves again under the name Birds Canada. However, their iconic logo has remained essentially the same over the decades.
Birds Canada’s Work Supporting Bird Populations
Today, Birds Canada remains Canada’s leading national charitable organization dedicated to wild bird conservation. Their many projects provide critical data on bird populations and the habitats and issues impacting them.
Some examples of Birds Canada’s ongoing national programs include:
- Monitoring bird migration patterns and populations through their Canadian Migration Monitoring Network of bird observatories
- Running the citizen science Breeding Bird Survey which tracks population trends of hundreds of bird species
- Designating Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas to recognize critical habitats
- Coordinating the Coastal Waterbird Survey which monitors colonial nesting seabirds and waterbirds
- Advocating for bird-friendly practices in urban planning, architecture, energy, and other sectors
- Providing bird ID and conservation resources for the public
Their research and citizen science programs provide data for assessing bird population trends over time. The data guides conservation actions and policies to support sustainable and healthy wild bird populations across Canada.
History of the Birds Canada Logo
Birds Canada’s current logo features a simple, iconic flying bird. But this iconic logo has its origins back in the 1960s when the organization was still known as the Long Point Bird Observatory.
Original Sketch
According to available records, the original motif was sketched by Don L Peris, one of the organization’s early members. Peris was an avid naturalist and artist living in Port Rowan, Ontario near the original Long Point location. He offered his original black-and-white sketch of a flying bird to be used as the emblem for the newly formed Long Point Bird Observatory in 1960.
The clean lined drawing shows a flying bird in profile facing left, wings wide and angled back in flight, with some faint detailing to suggest feathers. While recognizable as a bird, it does not depict any species in particular. This simple, graceful sketch became the basis for the iconic logo that has endured for over 60 years.
Earliest Logos
The organization’s original logos used Peris’s basic sketch as their central motif. Early logos had the bird enclosed in a circle or rounded rectangle, along with the name of the organization arched over the bird image. The logos were reproduced in solid black and white.
According to meeting minutes from the 1960s, the intent even then was to create a clean and simple logo that would be easily reproducible and memorable. The minimalist bird sketch perfectly fit this requirement.
New Versions Over the Decades
Over subsequent decades, updated or adapted versions of the logo have been created as the organization underwent periodic name changes and branding updates. Examples include:
- Long Point Bird Observatory (1960s)
- Long Point Bird Observatory and Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (1980s)
- Bird Studies Canada (1990s to 2018)
- Birds Canada (2019 to present)
However, in every version, the essential flying bird motif has persisted essentially unchanged, though it has been resized, rotated, enclosed in new shapes, and reproduced in new color schemes. The current logo features the splayed wing flying bird in white enclosed in a rounded green rectangle against a bold solid green Birds Canada name.
Identifying the Bird Species
While the logo bird is clearly identifiable as a bird in flight, it does not depict any particular species. However, over the decades, there has been speculation, debate, and analysis over what bird species may have inspired this stylized logo graphic.
Original Intent
According to some early members, the intent of Peris’s original sketch was to create a simplified, generic depiction of a bird rather than any specific species. The 1961 minutes from the inaugural meeting of the Long Point Bird Observatory included thanks to Peris for providing the design for “a motif of a flying bird” to be used as the emblem.
This suggests the logo was conceived as a generalized bird symbol rather than a depiction of any particular species significant to the organization’s work.
Most Likely Inspiration
Despite the original non-specific intent, the logo shape does most closely resemble a type of migratory bird that would have been seen at the original Long Point location. Most ornithological analyses point to it being modeled after a wood warbler, possibly the yellow warbler.
Yellow warblers are small, brightly colored, common warblers that migrate through the Long Point area each spring and fall in substantial numbers. Their silhouettes in flight, with angled back wings exposing a yellow underside, closely match the logo graphic shape.
So while totally generalized, the stylized flying bird logo may subconsciously have been modeled after a wood warbler familiar to the Long Point area. The yellow warbler is one of the strongest candidate species as likely inspiration for the silhouette.
Other Theories
Over the years, other bird species have also been proposed as potential candidates that may have inspired or modeled for the logo graphic. These include:
- Tree swallow – A migratory species passing through Long Point
- Canada goose – One of Canada’s most familiar birds
- Snow goose – Also common at Long Point
- Great blue heron – Symbolic Canadian species
- Bobolink – A grassland species studied by early members
- Chimney swift – Abundant breeder once in Long Point area
However, while all plausible, none match the warblers in their precise wing and body shapes and profiles in flight. The wood warblers, especially the yellow warbler remain the closest match and most likely inspiration.
Conclusion
While the stylized flying bird logo for Birds Canada does not depict any species in particular, the most likely source of inspiration was a wood warbler familiar to the Long Point area where the organization began. The yellow warbler is a prime candidate as the original model based on its migratory habits through Long Point and its silhouette shape matching the logo’s graphic of a bird in flight. However, the official intent was to create a simple, non-specific bird emblem. So the Birds Canada logo can be considered to represent all wild Canadian birds that the organization works to study and conserve through its research and conservation programs. The longevity of the logo for over 60 years shows the power and timelessness of its simple, graceful design.