Vancouver’s most famous crow is now a federally-protected bird.
Canuck the Crow has been granted a numbered bird band — a tool that researchers use to track bird populations and migration.
Shawn Bergman, Canuck’s human “friend,” applied for the official designation, one he said is rarely handed out to crows.
“From what I’ve been told he’s the first crow in North America to be banded for non-research, non-endangerment purposes,” said Bergman.
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According to the federal government, bird banding is typically used for “ornithological research, monitoring and conservation by contributing to basic scientific knowledge about birds and the environments in which they live.”
About 1.2 million birds are banded every year, it said, with Mallard Ducks and Canada Geese being the most common, with applicants typically required to submit a proposal for scientific research.
Bergman said the band means that Canuck is now in a federal database of birds in North America, and offers him a layer of protection the distinctive orange ziptie he wears around his other leg does not.
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“It’s nice that it’s more of an official title, official band … we’re taking it a little bit more seriously than just a crow with an orange band,” Bergman said.
“He’s very, very unique and I’ve just always wanted him to have that protection.”
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Bergman said getting the tag was a long process, but that federal officials were willing to look at Canuck’s Facebook and Instagram pages, where they got a sense of his unusual backstory.
Those pages, along with multiple media reports and a short documentary, chronicle the bird’s many adventures that have made him something of a legend in East Vancouver.
Canuck has made headlines for riding the SkyTrain, working a charity gig at the PNE and is known to frequent various East Vancouver McDonald’s locations in search of snacks.
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Perhaps his best-known caper involves disrupting a crime scene.
More recently, Canuck and his partner Cassiar have become parents — with chicks born earlier this spring.