List of individual birds
This is a list of well-known real birds. For famous fictional birds, see list of fictional birds.
- Alex, a grey parrot who, in studies by Dr. Irene Pepperberg, demonstrated an ability to count; differentiate categories involving objects, colors, shapes, and materials; and understand the concept of same and different
- All Alone, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross
- Ava, Amy Winehouse's pet bird, whose death inspired the song "October Song" from the 2003 album Frank. Its name is a reference to the classic Hollywood actress Ava Gardner.
- Beach Comber, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Billy, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Broad Arrow, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Bubi, a Eurasian eagle-owl that lives near the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. His appearance at soccer games is considered a good omen for the Finland national football team, which has taken the nickname of "Huuhkajat," the Finnish word for the species. Bubi was named Helsinki's "Resident of the Year" in 2007.
- Challenger - the first bald eagle in history trained to free fly into major sporting events during the American national anthem[1]
- Cher Ami, British-bred homing pigeon who, in the autumn of 1918, delivered 12 messages for the U.S. Army during World War I, among other things helping to save the Lost Battalion
- Cologne, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Commando, awarded the Dickin Medal, was a pigeon that carried out more than ninety missions carrying crucial intelligence during World War II for the British armed forces.
- DD.43.Q.879, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- DD.43.T.139, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Duke of Normandy, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Dutch Coast, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Flying Dutchman, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Gertie the Duck, a mallard duck who nested on some pilings under a bridge in Milwaukee in 1945[2][3] She (and her brood) are immortalized in RiverSculpture!
- G.I. Joe, awarded the Dickin Medal, was a member of the United States Army Pigeon Service. On 18 October 1943, the village of Calvi Vecchia, Italy was scheduled to be bombed by the Allies. He carried the message that British forces had captured the village, thus averting the attack and saving the lives of over a thousand people, both the local Italians and the British occupying troops.
- Greater the greater flamingo, the oldest flamingo on record, who died in 2014 at the Adelaide Zoo, aged at least 83.
- Gustav, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal.
- Incas, the last Carolina parakeet, who died in 1918 at the Cincinnati Zoo, reportedly of grief after his mate Lady Jane died a few months before him, in 1917
- Jimmy the raven, who appeared in more than 1,000 feature films from the 1930s through the 1950s, including It's a Wonderful Life and The Wizard of Oz.
- Kenley Lass, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- La Lechuza, a barn owl who lived in the Estadio Metropolitano de Barranquilla, was kicked by a football player and died from subsequent stress, believed to foresee the home team's victory when it flew over the field
- Maquis, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Martha, the last of the American passenger pigeons, who died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. Species Requiem Day, September 1, marks Martha's passing.
- Mary of Exeter, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Mercury, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Mike the Headless Chicken, the Wyandotte rooster of Fruita, Colorado who lived for 18 months after his head was cut off. The botched decapitation in 1945 missed his brain stem and jugular vein. His owners fed him thereafter with an eyedropper, and took him on tours of the West Coast. He died in 1947.
- Navy Blue, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Nils Olav, a king penguin, mascot and colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King's Guard[4]
- NPS.42.NS.2780, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- NPS.42.NS.7524, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- NURP.38.BPC.6, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- NURP.43.CC.1418, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Old Abe, an American Civil War bald eagle who was the mascot of a Wisconsin regiment, whose image was adopted in Case Corporation's logo and as the screaming eagle on the insignia of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division.
- Paddy, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Pale Male a red-tailed hawk living near Central Park in New York City.[5]
- Mr Percival an Australian pelican and notable film actor
- Princess, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Royal Blue, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Ruhr Express, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Scotch Lass, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Sirocco, a hand-reared kakapo, an ambassador for his species and conservation in New Zealand
- Tommy, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Tyke, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Ulysses, Gerald Durrell's pet owl when he was growing up in Corfu. Ulysses appeared frequently in Durrell's books about living on the Greek island.
- White Vision, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- William of Orange, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Winkie, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal
- Wisdom, a wild female Laysan albatross. She is the oldest confirmed wild bird in the world as well as the oldest banded bird in the world.
See also
- The Capitoline geese, who warned of an imminent attack on Rome by the Gauls in 390 BC.
- The cliff swallows that return from Villa Ventana, Argentina every year to the Mission San Juan Capistrano in California on (or around) March 19.
- The ducks of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, who, in a tradition dating back to the 1930s, are escorted from their penthouse palace down the elevator every day of the year at 11:00 a.m., cross a red carpet to a Sousa march, and spend the day in the lobby fountain, returning home with equal ceremony at 5:00 p.m.
- The gulls who saved the Mormon pioneers from a cricket infestation.
- The Hollywood Freeway chickens are a feral colony living under the Vineland Avenue off-ramp of the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles.
- The ravens of the Tower of London, whose continuing presence there is said to maintain the general safety of the kingdom.
- The feral peacocks of Memorial, Houston in the Nottingham Forest subdivision.
References and notes
- ^ Moore, Roger (November 3, 2007). "How much can one football fanbase take?". Stillwater-newspress.com. Stillwater News Press. Archived from the original on November 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
- ^ Gertie the Milwaukee Duck Archived 2010-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gertie the Duck: Symbol of Hope
- ^ "Norwegian Knight". Scandinavian Press. Vol. 15, no. 4. Fall 2008. p. 9.
- ^ Pale Male - the Central Park Red Tail Hawk
