Bernie Sanders' bizarre bird encounter inspires new 'Birdie Sanders' memes

The presidential campaign has produced a lot of ugly, depressing moments. So if you're tired of hearing about all the backstabbing, mudslinging and other verbs that use disgusting actions to describe acts of day-to-day politics, then get ready for two scoops of pure cuteness.

Democratic US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was giving a speech on Friday at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, when a small bird flew onto the stage. The crowd and the Vermont senator noticed the bird before it suddenly perched on Sanders' podium. The crowd leaped to its feet and cheered as Sanders stood back and laughed at the strange moment. Sanders' campaign posted a video of the encounter on his official Twitter feed.

Twitter can't resist taking advantage of a juicy pun, which is why your feed is cluttered with Hashtag Wars entries addressed to @midnight every night. So the social-media community turned the moment into the trending topic #BirdieSanders. Tweets include some clever memes celebrating what might be Sanders' X-Men-like power to communicate with avian creatures. This Twitter user, for instance, decided Sanders' campaign logo needed a little rebranding.

Matthew Inman, the artist behind the webcomic The Oatmeal, saw a perfect opportunity to help Sanders capture the all important Disney fan vote. Now I can't get that song from "The Little Mermaid" out of my head, because Sanders is singing it with his distinctive Brooklyn accent. That's right, Sanders is now "part of my world."

The Twitter account of @IL_4Bernie also Disney-fied Sanders' avian moment by evoking another famous person who's known for attracting a bird or two. However, she gets a quick makeover.

Twitter user @joesegal wanted to make Sanders' moment look more like a Disney movie as well, but without risking a strongly worded letter from the Walt Disney Company's team of high priced copyright attorneys.

This isn't the first time our fine feathered friends have found themselves thrust into the spotlight of the 2016 presidential race. Back in August, Time asked GOP front-runner Donald Trump if he would pose for the cover of the magazine with a real bald eagle. During the photo shoot, the 27-year-old eagle, named Uncle Sam, snapped at Trump. A GIF of the moment, released by Time the following December, went viral.

So you can probably guess where this final meme is headed.