Should B.C.'s official bird, the Steller's jay, be replaced by the rufous hummingbird?

An ornithologist has proposed that B.C.'s symbolic provincial bird, the Steller's jay, be switched out for another ubiquitous critter — the rufous hummingbird.

Both birds are found throughout the province. The Steller's jay, which has deep blue and black plumage, calls B.C. home throughout the year and is described as being "inquisitive and intelligent" by the B.C. Bird Atlas.

The orange-feathered rufous hummingbird migrates to the northwest from warmer states near the Gulf of Mexico to breed, its arrival marking the start of spring for many British Columbians.

But while both birds call the broader region home, some scientists are looking into which bird is most prevalent and concentrated in the provinces of Canada — and whether those birds should replace the official provincial birds.

That led Matt Smith, a birder and coder who works with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, N.Y., to use data models in the eBird application to find that while the Steller's jay breeds all over the continent, 62 per cent of all rufous hummingbirds breed in B.C.

"This new list of state and provincial birds … of course, is much more of a thought experiment than a formal proposal," he told Gregor Craigie, host of CBC's On the Island. "But my hope would be that it would be a way of educating people on what's really distinctive about the natural landscape in their state or province."

Smith's findings have sparked a discussion around what a region's official animal actually represents, and whether a bird being ubiquitous in an area carries enough cultural cachet to stand the test of time.

"We know that birds are such great bellwethers of things like climate change," he said. 

"To get invested in a bird that really represents something distinctive about your state would be a way of getting invested in following those trends as well — keeping tabs on the bird's population."

The rufous hummingbird is one of thousands of birds that migrate to B.C. during spring in order to breed, attracted by the province's milder climate.

Scientists have noticed a large dip in the population of the tiny birds since the 1970s.

Jay made B.C.'s bird in 1987

While the hummingbird is a "long-range migrant" that comes back to B.C. each year, the Steller's jay is a more permanent resident.

In fact, the B.C. Bird Atlas notes there is one unique species of Steller's jay that is found only in B.C.: the Pacific Steller's jay (Cyanocitta stelleri carlottae), endemic to Haida Gwaii.

But the jay was only designated the province's symbol on Dec. 17, 1987, and it took a public vote to get there.

WATCH | A Steller's jay perches on a Vancouver tree

B.C.’s symbolic provincial bird perches on a tree in Vancouver

2 years ago

Duration 0:25

The Steller’s jay, which has deep blue and black plumage, was made B.C.’s official symbolic bird in 1987 by public vote.

Ann Nightingale, a birder and volunteer member of the Rocky Point Bird Observatory, said the Steller's jay won out over the varied thrush back then because "a lot of people don't know what a varied thrush is."

"[The Steller's jay] is noisy and it gets noticed by people," she said. "Everybody that I know looks forward to seeing Steller's jays."

Nightingale says Smith's suggestion is an interesting one, and that both the hummingbird and the jay are quintessential western birds.

The Victoria-based bird enthusiast says she has a special connection with the hummingbirds, having been involved in a nearly-two-decade-long project where she bands the birds and sees them return every spring.

But asked to choose between the buzz of the rufous's wings or the distinctive squawks of the jay to represent the province, Nightingale says the jay wins out.

"People know when the Steller's jays are around — they're quite noisy and gregarious and in your face," she said. "I think they are probably a better symbol for British Columbia, just because they are difficult to ignore."

Nightingale says she is glad for Smith's experiment, as it got people talking and thinking about birds, which she considers a win.

CBC News has reached out to the province to find out what it would take to change B.C.'s official bird, but did not hear back by deadline.