In all of North America, only one avian species serves as both the beloved mascot of seven states as well as the totem to two professional sports teams (and an infinity of amateur ones!) Ironically, this feathered figurehead is neither a bird of prey nor particular distinguished athletically. Rather, this icon is extremely adaptable and [...]

Friday night my parents, Daisy and I enjoyed a baseball game at Shea Stadium, just up the road from my apartment.  The St. Louis Cardinals, the team with the best fans in baseball (and the fact that my father and I are die-hard Cardinals fans does not prejudice me at all), were in town for [...]

So the Anaheim Ducks have won the 2007 Stanley Cup, their first in franchise history. I don’t know what’s funnier: that a team named after a duck took the championship, that a southern California hockey team beat a Canadian team, or that the 2007 champs, formerly owned by Disney, used to be called the Mighty [...]

Folks unfamiliar with Detroit’s NHL team can be forgiven for thinking that the organization is named for the Red-winged Blackbird. After all, Agelaius phoeniceus is ubiquitous throughout most of North America, absolutely beautiful with males plumed in pitch black set off by epaulets of striking scarlet, and last but not least, belligerent, as anyone who’s [...]

So my beloved Mets aren’t going to take it all this year after all. As they say, there’s always next year. This time, they were undone by a team named for a bright red bird. The St. Louis Cardinals are a potent team to be sure. However, when it comes to the World Series, statistics [...]

How about those Seahawks? Though I’m a serious New York Giants fan, Seattle’s NFC Championship makes me pretty happy. Why, you ask? Besides the fact that Big Blue just wasn’t ready this year so it didn’t matter who took the conference, I’m very pleased that a football team with an obscure avian appellation is competing [...]

Now that Seattle’s football team is an NFL powerhouse, I’m getting a slew of inquiries asking, “What kind of bird is a seahawk?” Good question, sports fans!
Seahawk is but one of many nicknames for the awesome Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). This large, long-winged bird of prey cuts a striking figure, dark chocolate brown above and white [...]

The 2004 World Series has come to an unexpectedly quick, definitive end. The most successful bird-named team in major league baseball history was beaten soundly by an organization named for scarlet footwear. How embarrassing! Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox and their legion of fans, long-suffering no longer. Those of you rooting for bird-themed professional [...]

…are very much on our minds these days now that the NFL and our fantasy football season are in full swing. Some of you may remember that our team, the Bling Bling, prevailed over all pretenders last season to claim the championship of the Big A League, where “A” stands for attitude.  We’re back and [...]

The intersection of ornithology and North American professional sports is nowhere more prominent than in the National Football League, where no fewer than five teams sport bird names. If you like Ravens, Eagles, Falcons, Cardinals, and, of course, Seahawks, the NFL is the place for you.
The sport that comes closest to that level of avian [...]