Canada’s Provincial and Territorial Birds: A Quick Guide for your Homeschool

Did you know that every province and territory in Canada has chosen a bird to represent themselves? Each province and territory even has their own without any overlap! Read on and find out more about some of the fascinating birds of Canada. Let’s start on the west coast, work our way to the east coast and then cover the territories!

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Provincial Bird of British Columbia: The Steller’s Jay

The Steller’s Jay is a gorgeous songbird in the jay family. It is less well-known than the blue jay but just as stunning (maybe even more so?) They live in forests only in the western part of Canada.

If you like read aloud books, you might want to check out Jabber the Steller’s Jay by Sylvester Allred. Although it takes place in the western USA (which is included in the Steller’s Jay’s range), it is a good option for learning more about this beautiful bird.

Provincial Bird of Alberta: The Great Horned Owl

The Great Gray Owl is a majestic owl that is not commonly seen. They are predators who hunt for mainly small mammals. If you have seen a Great Gray Owl, you are very fortunate!

Are you interested in learning more about owls? A fascinating project is to purchase and dissect owl pellets! We have done this project twice and thoroughly enjoyed it! A great place to purchase an owl pellet kit is The Learning House (a Canadian homeschool company!) Get yours here.

Provincial Bird of Saskatchewan: The Sharp-Tailed Grouse

Sharp-tailed grouse are a game bird that primarily live in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, although it is also sometimes seen in a few other parts of Canada. The males of this species create amazing dances to attract their mates every spring!

Provincial Bird of Manitoba: The Great Gray Owl

The Great Gray Owl is a large owl that lives primarily in the boreal forest. They are not often seen by people, so if you have seen one, that is amazing!

Oftentimes, we think of owls making the “Who Who” sound. A neat project is to look up the different owl sounds and compare them. Do all owls make that sound or are there other sounds? The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website is a great resource for listening to the many and varied bird sounds.

Provincial Bird of Ontario: The Common Loon

Just seeing a photo of the loon makes me think of their incredible, eerie call. Common Loons are a favourite summer feature of many of Canada’s northern lakes and rivers. But did you know that Common Loons spend their winters in coastal ocean waters?

Something that I had a lot of fun with as a kid was trying to make the loon call with my hands. There are quite a few videos showing how to do this if you have some patience to learn!

A wonderful kid’s picture book to check out to learn more about loons is Loon by Susan Vande Griek.

Provincial Bird of Quebec: The Snowy Owl

The Snowy Owl has got to be one of the most magnificent birds to see. Everyone loves the Snowy Owl! Their winter range includes most of Canada but their breeding grounds are located in Canada’s Arctic.

If you are into books, check out Ookpik: The Travels of a Snowy Owl by Bruce Hiscock. In this book, Ookpik travels through Canada on his way to find food and a place to stay for the winter.

Provincial Bird of New Brunswick: The Black-capped Chickadee

Chickadees are such a cute bird! Bonus that they are also super friendly! They are found across most of Canada and are a year-round resident.

Something fun to try is to feed Chickadees by hand. If you go somewhere that Chickadees are used to people, you can just stand with some black-oil sunflower seeds in your hand palm-up and you’ll have one land in no time! If you have Chickadees that come to feeders in your yard but they aren’t quite used to people, Chickadees are very trainable to learn how to eat out of your hands!

Provincial Bird of Nova Scotia: The Osprey

Osprey are a really neat bird of prey. Found near bodies of water, these birds are found across most of Canada during the breeding and migration season.

If you want to learn more about Osprey, check out this book called Call of the Osprey by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent. Call of the Osprey is set in the United States, but the information about ospreys is excellent. The book is part of the educational Scientists in the Field series.

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Provincial Bird of Prince Edward Island: The Blue Jay

Blue Jays are one of the more familiar birds in the list of Canadian symbols. Toronto’s baseball team is named after them, and who can forget their stunning blue colour?

To learn more about Blue Jays, watch the video by Leslie the Bird Nerd, a Canadian who creates bird videos for You Tube. She has many other Canadian bird species videos as well!

Provincial Bird of Newfoundland and Labrador: The Atlantic Puffin

Puffins are incredible birds. During breeding season, their colours make them look quite comical! This bird is on my bucket list for a must-see someday! I will have to plan a trip to Canada’s east coast if I want to see one. Atlantic Puffins only live on the east coast of Canada.

One of our family’s favourite non-fiction picture books is about the Atlantic Puffin. Atlantic Puffins: Little Brother of the North by Kristen Bieber Domm is a delight to read aloud and very educational!

Territorial Bird of The Yukon: The Raven

Ravens are often mistaken with the American Crow. Ravens are the larger of the two. If you live in Canada, you have probably seen one! Ravens are year-round residents of almost the entire country.

Are you looking to read about the Common Raven? Check out The Raven Mother by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw Brett D. Huson or Tulugaq: An Oral History of Ravens by Kerry McCluskey. 

Territorial Bird of Northwest Territories: The Gyrfalcon

The Gyrfalcon (pronounced JER-falcon) is a fascinating bird of prey. It is the largest falcon and lives in Canada’s Arctic. We found a neat resource for learning more about the Gyrfalcon from Nunavut’s Discover magazine for kids. Although it is not a Northwest Territories resource, which is the territory that is represented by the Gryfalcon, it is too neat not to be included here! Gyrfalcons live across Canada’s Arctic and don’t pay attention to territorial borders anyways!

Territorial Bird of Nunavut: The Rock Ptarmigan

The Rock Ptarmigan is pronounced with a silent p. It is a game bird of the Arctic tundra. Check out the Rock Ptarmigan’s feet! They are designed to help it with the snowy environment where they live.

For more information about Rock Ptarmigans, check out these books: Birds of Nunavut by Carolyn Mallory and Common Birds of Nunavut by Mark L. Mallory.

Do you want a free printable of fact cards for Canada’s Provincial and Territorial birds? These would make a fun game of memory match! Enter your email below and get them delivered to your inbox!

A Final Note and Where to Learn More

And there you have it! All 13 of the provincial and territorial birds. These 13 birds are only a small fraction of what Canada has to offer…Canada has more than 400 species of birds!

We have created a Canadian provincial and territorial birds research worksheets bundle with three levels of resources on the birds of each province or territory. You can pick and choose which level you use based on your child’s skill level and confidence with reading / researching. Each page asks your child to learn more about each bird – from nesting habits to what they eat, where they live, and more! Get yours for only $4.99!

Are you looking to learn even more about birds? Check out our post called Easy Birdwatching with Kids for LOADS of information on how to have fun learning about birds with kids of all ages! We also have a Canadian bird book review for preschool to early elementary kids to share with you as well. Birding is a great family activity for all ages!