National Bird Of The Philippines

"Maya" or the "Eurasian Tree Sparrows" (Passer Montanus) is used to be the National Bird Of The Philippines. But it was changed to Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) in 1995.

Both the Maya and the Philippine Eagle being popular in the Philippines, there was a time when the two birds were said to have vied for who would be the national bird. The folklore went around the country of who among the two native birds had the best ability and argument for being enthroned as the country’s national bird.

For a long time, the Maya---a small bird found everywhere in the archipelago---used to be the national bird. The Maya enjoyed the uncontested title and many folks have learned to love the small bird as the country’s symbol for freedom. The folklore goes that Maya birds are best kept outdoors because keeping them in cages shortened their lives. Several times, some folks tried to sell them in bamboo cages to amused kids, dying their feathers in bright colors, but to no avail. So, the folklore likened the freedom loving birds to the freedom loving spirit of Filipinos who, though weak and small in stature, were able to gain and sustain their freedom through their history.

One day the Maya and the Philippine Eagle met, says the folklore, to assess the country’s standing in regional and world affairs. The Maya could only comment on local developments, able to fly only within the country’s borders. The folklore narrates that to the Maya’s eyes, the country was still the same---it still had 7,100 islands---and was likely to be the same in the coming years. But the eagle’s sharp eyes could see beyond the country’s boundaries and commented that the Philippines had become a relevant link to the southeast.

Seeing how far-sighted the eagle was, and how much have actually changed in the areas outside its range of vision, the Maya mused and then turned to the eagle. “I think it’s time to give the Philippines a new vision and symbol in these modern times,” the Maya said. So the folklore thus explains how the Maya turned over the throne to the Philippine Eagle. However, the folklore is quick to add that the eagle was emphatic of the fact that the Maya had, for a long time, inspired the small and weak nation during the two great wars, resulting in the emergence of great heroes. The Maya looked afar and sighed, saying how everything grand begins with small things.

The folklore maintains that national symbols are a shadow of things to come. Thus, the folklore believes that the time for the Philippines has come.