Here’s what Bernie Sanders’ bird of ‘world peace’ really was

Never let it be said that Bernie Sanders isn’t quick on his feet.

When a bird landed on his lectern in Portland on Friday, he ad libbed.

“I think there’s some symbolism here,” he told the roaring crowd. “I know it may not look like it, but that bird is really a dove asking us for world peace.”

In case you missed the moment, watch it here.

But the bird wasn’t a dove. At first, people that it was a sparrow that had found its way to the Moda Center stage.

But Audubon Society of Portland officials later identified it as a female house finch, a colorful little bird with a cheerful, twittering song commonly found from coast-to-coast.

According to the SunSigns blog, finches as bird totems are reminders of joy, high energy and positivity.

In other words, it is the proverbial bird of happiness.

Their twisting, turning, ebullient flight patterns — never a straight point-A-to-point-B path — are seen as reminders that the steps along the journey are to be enjoyed as much as the destination.

In some Native American cultures the finch is seen as an omen of joy.

On Twitter it was an omen of great fun, launching a weekend’s worth of tweets still on-going at the hashtag #BirdieSanders.

And that little finch? It punctuated its brush with infamy by pooping on an Oregon reporter’s laptop.

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 1:30 AM with the headline "Here’s what Bernie Sanders’ bird of ‘world peace’ really was."