Bernie Sanders upstaged by a bird in Portland

There was an especially warm welcome on Friday for Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders in Portland, Oregon, where a feathered friend joined him at the podium just as Sanders was talking about it.

Sanders paused his speech briefly when he noticed a small bird on the ground.

Just as he looked down and uttered the words, "This little bird doesn't know it..." the sparrow flew onto the podium and stayed there for just over 20 seconds.

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The crowd went wild and the moment was quickly immortalized on Twitter, with the trendinghashtag #birdiesanders.

"I think there may be some symbolism here," Sanders said after the bird finally flew away.

"I know it doesn't look like it, but that bird is really a dove asking us for world peace," he said. "No more wars!"

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"Historically, the sparrow has been a symbol of triumph for the working classes," one person tweeted in response, posting a photo from a book citing sparrow lore to illustrate the point.

Canada4Berniewas proud...

Comparisons to Trump were popular...

...As were comparisons to Disney characters.