Some 88 of the world’s 195 nations have an officially designated national bird. Among them are 17 European states, of which seven have chosen birds of prey — White-tailed Eagle for Poland, Eastern Imperial Eagle for Serbia, Golden Eagle for Albania and Romania, Common Kestrel for Belgium, Saker Falcon for Hungary and Gyrfalcon for Iceland. Other countries have picked a variety of species ranging from the tiny Goldcrest for tiny Luxembourg to the White Stork for Lithuania and the Mute Swan for Denmark.
But the United Kingdom does not have an official national bird, and nor do any of its four constituent nations, although unofficial votes have chosen the Golden Eagle for Scotland, the Red Kite for Wales and the Eurasian Oystercatcher for Northern Ireland.
Official national status for the Golden Eagle has actually been refused in Scotland. In December 2013, RSPB Scotland petitioned the Scottish Government to formally declare the Golden Eagle as the national bird of Scotland. But after more than 15 months’ deliberation, the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee announced that it was “not persuaded” that a case had been made.
If the UK government could be induced to earmark a bird as a national symbol — either for Britain as a whole or for England alone — the only serious contender in my opinion is the European Robin. This delightful garden songbird can be found throughout the UK and has been an unofficial national icon since 1960, when it was voted Britain’s favourite bird in a poll in The Times. Since then it has triumphed in further informal polls.
In 2015 David Lindo, the self-styled “Urban Birder”, organised an online poll in which more than 200,000 people took part. Despite Lindo’s efforts to influence the vote by beating the drum for the Blackbird, the Robin was again crowned winner, taking 34 per cent of the vote, with Barn Owl in second place (12 per cent) and Blackbird third (11 per cent).
And now the RSPB has conducted a new poll, in which more than 3,700 readers of its Notes on Nature answered a call to name their favourite bird. And guess what? The Robin again prevailed, with the rest of the top ten occupied by Wren, Kingfisher, Long-tailed Tit, Goldfinch, Puffin, Blackbird, Nuthatch, Red Kite and Barn Owl, in that order.
A clear reason for the Robin’s popularity in Britain is its reputation as the gardener’s friend. Robins in the British Isles are relatively unafraid of people and are drawn to gardening activities that disturb earthworms and other invertebrates — often using garden equipment as perches from which to follow the gardener’s activities. We also enjoy them because of their attractive plumage, their lively character and their delightful year-round song.
Things are different in Continental Europe, where the Robin — like most other small birds — has for centuries been hunted and killed. It therefore tends to be a wary woodland bird rather than the bold bird of parks and gardens for which we Brits have a soft spot.
I don’t really know why any nation actually needs an official national bird, but If anyone starts a petition to have the European Robin formally given that honour in the UK (or in England, at least), I shall be happy to add my signature.
Andrew's Birding Stuff 