Avian Citizenship

What makes a bird Canadian? They aren't on the tax rolls and they don't have passports. Yet it seems to be so terribly important to tag the origin of birds that get in the way of large aircraft.

The scientists have a reason to identify the population of the Canada Geese in the US Airways 1549 incident: which is to find ways to prevent or avoid similar occurrences in the future. That's fair enough. Scientists seem to assign them their home by where they nest and procreate. In this case, that would be Labrador.

However we should be wary of the moniker that we humans assign to these birds -- Canada Geese -- since it means nothing of essential value. We could just as easily call the geese Americans, and then wonder why they keep coming up here and pooping all over our cherished Newfoundland-Labrador. Where are all the editorials about that outrage?