THE NATIONAL BIRD

Most nations have a national bird, it's just a thing nations do, they have national flowers and trees and even fish I suppose, though none have a national vegetable or appliance, there are limits to these things.

Japan's national bird is the pheasant. The bird is on the money. The pheasant is described as "characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, with males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. They are usually larger than the females. Males play no part in rearing the young." I wouldn’t have minded being a
cultural fly on the wall when that choice was made.

Other nations have made interesting choices for national bird too; Australia, for example, chose the Emu-- rather hastily one suspects. Canada opted for the common loon, which many see as unfortunate; Egypt hasn't even bothered to select a national bird, since they have the pyramids and the sphinx; nor has China gone the bird route, what with Mao and the Great Wall; the French bird is the rooster, which is somehow a propos...

I doubt, though, that any of these selections involved such heartfelt parliamentarian pleas for various avian candidates as there were back when America chose its bird: not Franklin's turkey, heaven forfend, but Jefferson's favorite, the bald eagle-- which, though photogenic, maybe wasn't all that good a choice.

Anyway, my vote goes to Charlie Parker.