Gatineau selects pileated woodpecker as its official bird
Red-crested woodpecker reflects 'values of perseverance, solidarity and ingenuity that forged the city'
The City of Gatineau, Que., now has an official bird.
The pileated woodpecker was among five candidates up for the title, beating out the wood duck, the white-breasted nuthatch, the cedar waxwing and the belted kingfisher.
A total of 4,182 residents cast ballots for their favourite feathered friend between May 9 and June 4, and Gatineau city council made the result official at a meeting Tuesday.
It's part of the Gatineau's effort to become officially certified as a bird-friendly city under the guidelines set out by the conservation group Nature Canada. The certification aims to recognize and encourage municipalities that protect and promote bird habitats in urban areas.
Ted Cheskey, naturalist director for Nature Canada, said the large, red-crested woodpecker chosen by Gatineau is an integral part of the ecosystem and an anchor species for the region's forest ecology.
"There's, I think, 34 different species that use the old nest sites of [pileated woodpeckers] for their own nests," Cheskey told CBC's Ottawa Morning. "They're afraid of nothing and they have a great drumming sound that just resonates."
A 'hard-working' bird
According to a news release from the city, the pileated woodpecker plays an important role in maintaining local biodiversity because the cavities it excavates in its search for food provide shelter for several other animal species. The bird symbolizes the richness and diversity of the city's natural environment, as well as its resourceful human inhabitants, according to the release.
"As a hard-working woodworker, it recalls the region's industrial history and the values of perseverance, solidarity and ingenuity that forged the city," the release states.
On its website, the Club des ornithologues de l'Outaouais said it worked with the city to assess over 300 breeds for the title, considering such factors as how easy each contender is to identify for novice birders.
Cheskey agreed the pileated woodpecker represents the city well.
"I think it's a beautiful, popular, audacious bird, pretty common throughout Gatineau and all the forests that are there," he said.
Gatineau's woodpecker now joins Montreal's American goldfinch and Val-d'Or's downy woodpecker as official municipal birds.