On Feb 7, 2011, at 9:01 PM, Michael Brown wrote:

> The problem with swifts is, I believe, that the average citizen wouldn't know the difference between a swift and a swallow. For a state bird, I think John Q. Public needs to be able to identify with it, or maybe just be able identify the species. :-)

Perhaps the American Crow should be a candidate?

Perhaps 95% of the population live alongside it.

It's a synanthrope, a lawn-o-phile and a generalist. Maybe this choice would say more about the direction on life on this planet (and in WA state) than anything else.

We even have a leading researcher at a state university who works (well, worked) on crows.

I'm not sure what's behind the current change but I do note that the previous change from Western Meadowlark (a good choice in both wet and dry WA) to American Goldfinch in 1951 seems to map the change from rural to urban. Maybe this is just a 50 year itch.

Or the house reps keeping some local schoolkids entertained.

> What's the real impetus behind spending time and money on this....lark? (No pun intended.)

What money? This just modifies a document on a web server. I'm sure the proposers are hoping it goes through on "the nod".

Bottom line: write to the proposers of the bill and tell them this is a silly idea. And write your own rep too. Write the papers. Write to the TV stations. Make fun of them. Point out it's a cheap way to keep their voters happy. They won't like that. (I see this has already started in the times).

On another note I'm note sure why we still have a "indigenous" bird distinction with European Starting and House Sparrow being unprotected. They're part of our ecosystem now. They're not going away. Unless, given their numerical decline over the past 30 years which matches declines in Europe, we also loose a lot of other "more indigenous" songbirds too.

Hmmm, the starling for state bird. Now there's an idea.
--
Kevin Purcell (Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA)
kevinpurcell at pobox.com
http://kevinpurcell.posterous.com
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