Below is a list of U.S. state birds as designated by each state's, district's or territory's government.
The selection of state birds began with Kentucky adopting the northern cardinal in 1926. It continued when the legislatures for Alabama, Florida, Maine, Missouri, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming selected their state birds after a campaign was started by the General Federation of Women's Clubs to name official state birds in the 1920s. [1] [2] The last state to choose its bird was Arizona in 1973.
Pennsylvania never chose an official state bird, but did choose the ruffed grouse as the state game bird. [3] Alaska, California, and South Dakota permit hunting of their state birds. Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee have designated an additional "state game bird" for the purpose of hunting. The northern cardinal is the state bird of seven states, followed by the western meadowlark as the state bird of six states.
The District of Columbia designated a district bird in 1938. [4] Of the five inhabited territories of the United States, American Samoa and Puerto Rico are the only ones without territorial birds.
State, district, or territory | Bird | Scientific name | Picture | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Yellowhammer (northern flicker) | Colaptes auratus | 1927 [5] | |
Alaska | Willow ptarmigan | Lagopus lagopus | 1955 [6] | |
American Samoa | None, although the bald eagle displays on the flag. | — | — | — |
Arizona | Cactus wren | Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus | 1931 [7] | |
Arkansas | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1929 [8] | |
California | California quail | Callipepla californica | 1931 [9] | |
Colorado | Lark bunting | Calamospiza melanocorys | 1931 [10] | |
Connecticut | American robin | Turdus migratorius | 1943 [11] | |
Delaware | Blue Hen Chicken | Gallus gallus | 1939 [12] | |
District of Columbia | Wood thrush | Hylocichla mustelina | 1938 [4] | |
Florida | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1927 [13] | |
Georgia | Brown thrasher | Toxostoma rufum | 1928 [14] | |
Guam | Guam rail (ko'ko') | Gallirallus owstoni | 2000 [15] | |
Hawaii | Nene | Branta sandvicensis | 1957 [16] | |
Idaho | Mountain bluebird | Sialia currucoides | 1931 [17] | |
Illinois | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1929 [18] | |
Indiana | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1933 [19] | |
Iowa | Eastern goldfinch (American goldfinch) | Spinus tristis tristis | 1933 [20] | |
Kansas | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1933 [21] | |
Kentucky | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1926 [22] | |
Louisiana | Eastern brown pelican | Pelecanus occidentalis | 1966 [23] | |
Maine | Chickadee | Poecile, species not specified (de facto Poecile atricapillus) [24] | 1927 [25] | |
Maryland | Baltimore oriole | Icterus galbula | 1947 [26] | |
Massachusetts | Black-capped chickadee | Poecile atricapilla | 1941 [27] | |
Michigan | American robin | Turdus migratorius | 1931 [28] | |
Minnesota | Common loon | Gavia immer | 1961 [29] | |
Mississippi | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1944 [30] | |
Missouri | Eastern bluebird | Sialia sialis | 1927 [31] | |
Montana | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1941 [32] | |
Nebraska | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1929 [33] | |
Nevada | Mountain bluebird | Sialia currucoides | 1967 [34] | |
New Hampshire | Purple finch | Carpodacus purpureus | 1957 [35] | |
New Jersey | Eastern goldfinch (American goldfinch) | Spinus tristis tristis | 1935 [36] | |
New Mexico | Greater roadrunner | Geococcyx californianus | 1949 [37] | |
New York | Eastern bluebird | Sialia sialis | 1970 [38] | |
North Carolina | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1943 [39] | |
North Dakota | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1970 [40] | |
Northern Mariana Islands | Mariana fruit-dove | Ptilinopus roseicapilla | ? | |
Ohio | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1933 [41] | |
Oklahoma | Scissor-tailed flycatcher | Tyrannus forficatus | 1951 [42] | |
Oregon | Western meadowlark (state songbird) and osprey (state raptor) [a] | Sturnella neglecta | 1927 [44] 2017 [45] | |
Pennsylvania | Ruffed grouse (state game bird) [b] | Bonasa umbellus | 1931 | |
Puerto Rico | Puerto Rican spindalis (de facto) | Spindalis portoricensis | — [47] [48] | |
Rhode Island | Rhode Island Red | Gallus gallus | 1954 [49] | |
South Carolina | Carolina wren | Thryothorus ludovicianus | 1948 [50] | |
South Dakota | Ring-necked pheasant | Phasianus colchicus | 1943 [51] | |
Tennessee | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1933 [52] | |
Texas | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1927 [53] | |
Utah | California gull | Larus californicus | 1955 [54] | |
Vermont | Hermit thrush | Catharus guttatus | 1941 [55] | |
Virgin Islands | Bananaquit | Coereba flaveola | 1970 | |
Virginia | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1950 [56] | |
Washington | Willow goldfinch (American goldfinch) | Spinus tristis salicamans | 1951 [57] | |
West Virginia | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1949 [58] | |
Wisconsin | American robin | Turdus migratorius | 1949 [59] | |
Wyoming | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1927 [60] | |
In addition to having a state bird, some states have chosen a state game bird (or state wild game bird), a state waterfowl (or state duck), a state raptor, or a bird as their state symbol of peace.
State | State bird | Scientific name | Photography | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Wild turkey (state game bird) | Meleagris gallopavo | 1980 [61] | |
Georgia | Bobwhite quail (state game bird) | Colinus virginianus | 1970 [62] | |
Idaho | Peregrine falcon (state raptor) | Falco peregrinus | 2004 [63] | |
Massachusetts | Wild turkey (state game bird) | Meleagris gallopavo | 1991 [64] | |
Mississippi | Wood duck (state waterfowl) | Aix sponsa | 1974 [65] | |
Missouri | Bobwhite quail (state game bird) | Colinus virginianus | 2007 [66] | |
New Hampshire | Red-tailed hawk (state raptor) | Buteo jamaicensis | 2019 [67] | |
Oklahoma | Wild turkey (state game bird) | Meleagris gallopavo | 1990 [68] | |
Oregon | Osprey (state raptor) | Pandion haliaetus | 2017 [69] | |
Pennsylvania | Ruffed grouse (state game bird) | Bonasa umbellus | 1931 [3] | |
South Carolina | Northern mockingbird (former state bird) | Mimus polyglottos | 1939 – 1948 [50] | |
Wild turkey (state wild game bird) | Meleagris gallopavo | 1976 [70] | ||
Wood duck (state duck) | Aix sponsa | 2009 [71] | ||
Tennessee | Bobwhite quail (state wild game bird) | Colinus virginianus | 1987 [72] | |
Wisconsin | Eastern mourning dove (state symbol of peace) | Zenaida macroura carolinensis | 1971 [73] | |
Some state birds are shared between multiple states. Of the 50 states, a total of 32 do not have a unique state bird.
Bird | # of states |
---|---|
Northern cardinal | 7 |
Western meadowlark | 6 |
Northern mockingbird | 5 [a] |
Wild turkey (state game bird or wild game bird) | 4 |
American robin | 3 |
Bobwhite quail (state game bird or wild game bird) | 3 |
American goldfinch | 3 [b] |
Chickadee | 2 [c] |
Chicken | 2 [d] |
Eastern bluebird | 2 |
Mountain bluebird | 2 |
Wood duck (state waterfowl or duck) | 2 |
The eastern meadowlark is a medium-sized blackbird, very similar in appearance to sister species western meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to northern South America, where it is also most widespread in the east. The Chihuahuan meadowlark was formerly considered to be conspecific with the eastern meadowlark.
The western meadowlark is a medium-sized icterid bird, about 8.5 in (22 cm) in length. It nests on the ground in open grasslands across western and central North America. It feeds mostly on bugs, but will also feed on seeds and berries. The western meadowlark has distinctive calls described as watery or flute-like, which distinguish it from the closely related eastern meadowlark. The western meadowlark is the state bird of six states: Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming.
Zumwalt Prairie is a grassland area located in Wallowa County in northeast Oregon, United States. Measuring 330,000 acres (130,000 ha), much of the land is used for agriculture, with some portions protected as the Zumwalt Prairie Preserve owned by The Nature Conservancy. Part of that portion is designated as a National Natural Landmark. The high elevation prairie is along the west edge of Hells Canyon on the Oregon-Idaho border.
Chihuahuan meadowlark, also known as Lilian's meadowlark, is a bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in northern Mexico and the southwestern portion of the United States. It was formerly usually treated as a subspecies of the eastern meadowlark.
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