The Bird (statuette)

From USAFA Folklore

This article is about the statuette. For other uses, see Bird

The Bird is the mascot of the Academy, but also refers to a falcon statuette sometimes awarded to guest speakers and distinguished visitors.

When a guest is honored on the Staff Tower or in Arnold Hall and awarded with the standard gift from the Cadet Wing, a small carved statue of a falcon, the Cadet Wing shouts in unison, "The Bird!". This is a later evolution of a previous ritual, which was when the speaker finished, knowing the speaker was going to get a falcon statue as a token of appreciation, cadets in the audience would randomly call out, "Give him the Bird!" The humor is more evident in the earlier version.