Birds of Canada () is the fifth series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar issued by the Bank of Canada and was first circulated in 1986 to replace the 1969 Scenes of Canada series. Each note features a bird indigenous to Canada in its design. The birds on the bills were: American Robin ($2 bill), belted kingfisher ($5 bill), osprey ($10 bill), common loon ($20 bill), snowy owl ($50 bill), Canada goose ($100 bill), and pine grosbeak ($1000 bill). The banknotes weigh 1 gram with dimensions of . The series was succeeded by the 2001 Canadian Journey series.

This was the first series to omit the $1 banknote; it was replaced by the $1 coin, which became known as the loonie, in 1987, although the $1 bill from the previous series would continue to be produced concurrently with the $1 coin for a 21-month long period until 1989. It was the last series to include the $2 and $1,000 banknotes. The $2 note was withdrawn in 1996 and replaced by the $2 coin now known as the toonie. The $1,000 note was withdrawn by the Bank of Canada in 2000 as part of a program to mitigate money laundering and organized crime.

The portraits on the front of the note were made larger than those of previous series. The $20, $50, $100, and $1000 banknotes had a colour-shifting metallic foil security patch on the upper left corner, an optical security device that was difficult to reproduce with the commercial reproduction equipment of the time. This was the last Canadian banknote series to include planchettes as a security feature.

This series was the first to include a bar code with the serial number. This allows the visually impaired to determine the denomination of a banknote using a hand-held device distributed by the bank of Canada for free via the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

Design The Bank of Canada began preparations for design of this series in 1974. A 1981 Parliamentary committee recommending design features enabling visually impaired individuals to determine the denomination of a banknote influenced the design process for the banknotes. In 1983, the Bank of Canada chose to use "clear, uncluttered images" of Canadian birds for the reverse. This imparted on the banknotes additional security against counterfeiting, as the design had a "single, large focal point" that enabled easier detection of counterfeits compared to the complex designs of earlier banknote series.

The banknote design contains distinct colours for each denomination, and large numerals on the obverse and reverse of each denomination, both of which facilitate quick identification. A patch of about width at the edge of the central banner enables blind people to determine the denomination of a banknote using an electronic device and emit an audible output to indicate it, except for the $1000 banknote. On the reverse, vertical bars adjacent to the serial number are used by banknote sorting machines for quick identification to enable high-speed sorting.

Production In 1984, the Bank of Canada announced that production of banknotes would be revised to require 100% cotton fibre, eliminating the 25% flax content requirement. Domestic flax producers in the Prairie provinces were upset by the change, which would result in a loss of revenue of about . A Bank of Canada spokesman stated the change was necessary to satisfy pollution control standards, as raw flax processing uses chemicals eventually released as effluent.

The printing process required three lithographic plates and one intaglio plate for the obverse, and three lithographic plates for the reverse.

Banknotes The obverse of four banknotes feature a Prime Minister of Canada, whereas the others feature Elizabeth II. The design on the reverse of each note features a bird indigenous to Canada with a background representing the typical landscape for that bird. The birds represented in the series are found throughout Canada, and their colouring complements the dominant colour of the denomination on which they appear. In a Toronto Star article in 1990, Christopher Hume stated that having a bird on each denomination "adds an element of consistency to the series". Each banknote weighs with dimensions of .

As of November 2013, all banknotes in this series are considered unfit for circulation by the Bank of Canada, as none of the banknotes contain modern security features like that of a metallic stripe. Financial institutions must return the banknotes to the Bank of Canada, which will destroy them. Individuals may keep the banknotes indefinitely.

Value Main colour Obverse Reverse Series Year Issued Withdrawn $2 Terra cotta Elizabeth II American robins 1986 2 September 1986 16 February 1996 $5 Blue Wilfrid Laurier Belted kingfisher 1986 28 April 1986 27 March 2002 $10 Purple John A. Macdonald Osprey 1989 27 June 1989 17 January 2001 $20 Green Elizabeth II Common loon 1991 29 June 1993 29 September 2004 $50 Red William Lyon Mackenzie King Snowy owl 1988 1 December 1989 17 November 2004 $100 Brown Robert Borden Canada goose 1988 3 December 1990 17 March 2004 $1000 Pink Elizabeth II Pine grosbeak 1988 4 May 1992 12 May 2000

$2 note

The $2 banknote has an obverse featuring Elizabeth II, the Queen of Canada at the time of its introduction on 2 September 1986. A photograph by Anthony Buckley was the basis of the portrait, which was engraved by Henry S. Doubtfire of De La Rue. Adjacent to the portrait is a vignette of the Parliament buildings. The reverse of the terra cotta banknote features American robins. This note would be the last Canadian $2 banknote, as the government announced during the 1995 Canadian federal budget speech that it would be withdrawn from circulation. It was withdrawn on 16 February 1996 and was replaced by a $2 coin, colloquially referred to as the toonie.

One of five known $2 banknotes with a serial number containing the prefix sequence "AUH" was auctioned in September 2012 for .

$5 note

The obverse of the blue $5 banknote included a rendering of Wilfrid Laurier, and the bird on the reverse is the Belted Kingfisher. The portrait was engraved by Yves Baril, and to its right is a vignette of the Centre Block as it appeared during Laurier's premiership flying the Canadian Red Ensign, the flag of Canada at the time.

The banknote was the first of this series to be introduced, on 28 April 1986. It was withdrawn on 27 March 2002.

$10 note

The prime minister featured on the $10 banknote obverse is John A. Macdonald, whose portrait was engraved by Thomas Hipschen of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in the United States. Adjacent to the portrait is a vignette of the buildings of Parliament as they were during his premiership, flying the Canadian Red Ensign. The bird featured on the reverse is an Eastern Osprey. The purple banknote was introduced on 27 June 1989 and withdrawn on 17 January 2001.

$20 note

The green $20 banknote has an obverse featuring Elizabeth II, the same engraving used for the $2 banknote, and a reverse featuring two Common Loons. The building vignette adjacent to the portrait is the Library of Parliament. The image of the loons was intended for a $1 banknote, but when it was decided to replace that with the $1 loonie coin, the image was instead used for the $20 banknote.

It was introduced on 29 June 1993, making it the last of the series to be introduced, and withdrawn on 29 September 2004. In 2003, high-quality counterfeits of the banknote appeared in circulation in Ontario and Quebec.

$50 note

The obverse of the red $50 banknote includes William Lyon Mackenzie King, and the reverse has the Snowy Owl depicted on a background of an Arctic landscape. This portrait was also engraved by Thomas Hipschen, and was placed adjacent to the Parliament buildings flying the Canadian Red Ensign. The colour of this banknote differed slightly from the same denomination in the Scenes of Canada series, as its hue was blue-red instead of the earlier banknotes orange-red.

Introduced on 1 December 1989 and withdrawn on 17 November 2004, the $50 bill was the last banknote of the series to cease being printed. It was the first Canadian banknote to feature the optical security device.

$100 note

Robert Borden is featured on the obverse of the brown $100 banknote, which has the Canada Goose on its reverse. Yves Baril also engraved this portrait, and the banknote also depicts a vignette of the Centre Block with the Peace Tower flying the Union Jack, which was flown on all federal buildings from 1904 to 1945.

The banknote was introduced on 3 December 1990 and withdrawn on 17 March 2004. Many merchants, including Food Basics, Jumbo Video, McDonald's Canada, No Frills, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Tim Hortons, stopped accepting the $100 banknote in 2001 as it became increasingly counterfeited.

By 2013, counterfeit versions of the banknote represented half of all counterfeit banknotes in circulation in Quebec, and 80% of all counterfeit $100 banknotes in the province.

$1000 note

The pink-hued $1000 banknote has an obverse with the same portrait of Elizabeth II used on the $2 banknote adjacent to a vignette of the Centre Block and Library of Parliament, the modern flag of Canada flying from the Peace Tower. The reverse features a pair of Pine Grosbeaks, the engraving of which was based on a watercolour by John Crosby. Originally, it was intended to use an image of a spruce grouse, but its nickname "fool hen" was "considered too controversial". This was the first new $1000 bill printed since the 1954 Canadian Landscape series.

The banknotes were often referred to as "pinkies" because of their colour. On average, a $1000 banknote remained in circulation for 13 years owing to its infrequent use. It was released on 4 May 1992. The banknote was withdrawn from circulation by the Government of Canada on 12 May 2000 at the request of the Bank of Canada, the Department of Finance, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as part of a program to reduce organized crime. At the time, 2,827,702 of the $1000 bills were in circulation, representing 0.3% of all circulating currency; in 2001, 520,000 banknotes were withdrawn from circulation and destroyed. By 2011, fewer than 1 million were in circulation, most of which were held by organized crime and used for money laundering.

Printings Each printing of the banknote series is signed by the Governor of the Bank of Canada and the deputy governor.

GovernorDeputy GovernorPrinting yearsDenominationsGerald Bouey John Crow 1986–1987 $2, $5John Crow Gordon Thiessen 1987–1994 $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $1000Gordon Thiessen Bernard Bonin 1994–1999 $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $1000Gordon Thiessen Malcolm Knight 1999–2001 $5, $10, $20, $50, $100David A. Dodge Malcolm Knight 2001 $5, $20, $50, $100

The Canadian Bank Note Company (CBN) printed the $2, $5, $20, $50, and $1000 banknotes, and the British American Bank Note Company printed the $2, $10, $20, and $100 banknotes.

Security All banknotes featured intaglio printing, microprinting and fine lines, fluorescence, and unique colours and serial numbers. The intaglio printing is raised ink appearing on the large numeral, the Arms of Canada, parts of the portrait, and the horizontal bands containing the words "BANK OF CANADA". The fine but clear microprinting cannot be easily reproduced by photocopiers and printers, and appears on the background patterns of the banknotes, the facial portion of the portraits, and in the vignette of the Parliament buildings. The colours used on the banknotes were based on security inks that could not be easily replicated.