City Bird: Rauma's Great Black-backed Gull

May 24, 2012 in Gulls and City Birds with 5 comments

Many countries have an official national bird. For example, the national bird of Israel is the Hoopoe, and the national bird of Mauritius is the Dodo. All U.S. states also have official birds. But did you know that there are even some cities that have their own official bird?

The official city bird of Rauma, Finland is the Great Black-backed Gull. Oddly, in the Rauma dialect, there is no specific name for this species. The word "truut" is used for all large gulls found in the area: Great Black-backed; Lesser Black-backed; and Herring. It is estimated that the Great Black-backed Gull was nesting on Rauma soil 4200 years before the city was officially founded! For Rauma, the gull symbolizes the care that residents should take in local wildlife.

Great Black-backed Gull with the Rauma Coat of Arms

Comments

Tough Titmouse on May 24, 2012 at 5:39 PM wrote:

Cuuuuuute! And so nice to hear about an official city bird. When I looked up Florida's state bird, at first I was guessing something more exotic, or something sort of unusual. Well anyways, the state bird for Florida is..... (dadada drum roll) the MOCKINGBIRD!!!!

The Last of the Dodos on May 25, 2012 at 11:10 PM wrote:

I am so happy that a gull is finally appreciated. Because you know gulls are infamous for occasionally pooping in the air and being a nuisance in trash and scraps. I am just so excited.

Tough Titmouse on May 28, 2012 at 3:27 PM wrote:

@ the Last~ I definitely agree. Isn't it soo nice? ( BTW, I love dodos)

Tough Titmouse on May 31, 2012 at 5:36 PM wrote:

I like you, TLOTD, ( the last of the dodos).

Louise Warner on February 6, 2017 at 5:36 PM wrote:

city slickers"uh?

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.

Your name (required)

Your email address (required)

Your email address will not be published

Comment (required)

Fun Facts About Hornbills

January 14, 2024

Hornbills are fascinating birds, known for their distinctive bills and other unique characteristics. There are about 55 extant species of Hornbill Bucerotidae in the world. Here are some interesting facts about the family, and about some of the individual species: Old World Birds Hornbill species are found in sub-Saharan

T-Shirt Tuesday: Swallow-tailed Kite in Flight

May 12, 2015

Today's featured t-shirt is our Birdorable Swallow-tailed Kite in flight on this Women's Jersey T-Shirt. Swallow-tailed Kites live throughout South America and migrate to Central America and the gulf states in the US. Did you know that these birds pick off insects, lizards and other small...

Endangered & Unusual Birds: The World's Top 100

April 28, 2014

Earlier this month, scientists named the 100 most unusual and endangered birds in the world. The species on the list were taken from the world's approximately 10,000 bird species, and ranked by their evolutionarily distinctiveness and conservation status. Here at Birdorable we like to highlight both unusual...

Gray Jay Named National Bird of Canada

November 19, 2016

Last year, in a public poll conducted by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Canadian citizens voted for an unofficial national bird to represent their country. The finalists were: the Canada Goose, long associated with the national identiy; the

Birdorable Blog