h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

unless..... we have tweety pie... or ... big bird from sessamae st or.... hmmm

Oh!

emu! err... or however it/he was spelt err.....

*retrieves ancient memories* rod and emu? wasn't it?

or... surely.... a pigeon.... from straight off the top of Nelson's collum

Pauly, according to the article robins go south in the winter and are replaced by visitors from the continent. So the robin you see at Christmas isn't necessarily native. It was only ever an unofficial national bird anyway.

My vote would be for the wren, but I thought our national bird was called Queen Elizabeth II.

That should have been paulh, not Pauly. predictive text!

As for other countries, Germany uses an eagle, but a heraldic eagle. At various points (e.g. the Middle Ages) it had two heads.

France has a cockerel.

The double-headed eagle symbol is very old indeed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-headed_eagle

If you looking for history, we could chose the kite it was one of the birds° of the goddess Isis. It was introduced by the Romans and worshiped in Britain. So it has a history of cultural importance here.

Isis was often depicted with her son Horus however. The image was adopted and became the mother and child portrait of Mary and infant son Jesus. So it also has a long history.

°The other was the sparrow

>Pauly, according to the article robins go south in the winter and are replaced by visitors from the continent. So the robin you see at Christmas isn't necessarily native. It was only ever an unofficial national bird anyway.<

Native there is a relative term surely - there ones that naff off at winter are disloyal and only here for the good times.
The 'visitors' they like the UK at it's most challenging :P

its

The Elephant, with thanks to Spike Milligan.

I thought it was chicken tikka?

"GUARD #1: Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?
ARTHUR: Not at all, they could be carried.
GUARD #1: What -- a swallow carrying a coconut?
ARTHUR: It could grip it by the husk!
GUARD #1: It's not a question of where he grips it! It's a simple
question of weight ratios! A five ounce bird could not carry a 1 pound coconut.
ARTHUR: Well, it doesn't matter. Will you go and tell your master
that Arthur from the Court of Camelot is here."

Wouldn't you want a bird strong enough to carry a coconut from the tropics to be the national

yessssss~! I think Paulh has got it, spot on at last Hurrah! * s off to find clip of that...*

It might be on Youtube.

The thing is, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" made no sense to me the first time I saw it. It wasn't until the second or third time that I figured out why it was so celebrated.

Maybe Monty Python's Flying Circus could be the honorary national bird.

The wren (Troglodytes Troglodytes) makes sense, as it was, technically, adopted, being the symbol on the back of the farthing.

The robin (Erithacus rubella) is interesting as the bird in your garden, apart from possibly being a continental visitor, is also unlikely to be the same as the one from the previous year.

Robins are very territorial and aggressively defend that territory. During the Summer, when food, largely insects, grubs etc, are plentiful their territories tend to be relatively small and overlap to a degree. However, in the Winter, that territory expands by around x3 to x4, forcing other robins out of the locality. This is believed to be due to a reduction in food supply and possible suitable winter roosting sites. These are defended so aggressively fights can rove lethal. A lack of territory can lead to death through starvation, cold, dehydration and/or stress.

One of the very first non-fiction natural history books I read, probably aged 7, was my Uncle's 1953 Penguin book, Life of the Robin by David Lack. I still have it. A bit heavy but very interesting. Recommended reading.

MMF

This thread would confuse an estimated 80% of the UK public, who have heard of only 3 birds:

Keith Harris and Orville:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c8PUVIKgI4

Rod Hull and Emu:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kek1vs6bM2k

Bernie Clifton and his comedy ostrich:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtsQPt54SBg

My grandmother described herself as a tough old bird. I think she was onto something.

How about the cuckoo? Heads to Africa, fills its boots, retreats back to north-west Europe when Africa starts to look less appealing, and pretends to be something it's not.

I thought the cuckoo lived in those little clocks that tourists buy in quaint little shops in Switzerland.