Legend has it that Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, and Thomas Paine got together one afternoon in a Boston coffeehouse and decided to make the turkey the national bird. The native American wild turkey was a very intelligent bird, and could often outwit hunters and predatory animals, thus it was a highly admirable bird and would make a worthy national symbol.

A Thanksgiving celebration was planned and the decision was made to have stuffed and roasted bald eagle as the main dish and centerpiece of the celebration.

But the cook was a lousy ornithologist and cooked the wrong bird.

Embarrassing! So there was an agonized reappraisal, and the bald eagle was declared the national bird.

At least according to Stan Freeberg.

Don Firth