Below is a list of U.S. state birds as designated by each state's legislature, as well as the District of Columbia's state bird. The list also contains U.S. territory birds as designated by each territory's legislature. The selection of state birds began in 1927, 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. 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. Several states have extinct official animals, such as state dinosaurs in addition to state insects, state butterflies, state mammals and state reptiles. The District of Columbia designated a district bird in 1938.[3] Each of the five inhabited territories of the United States has a designated territorial bird (except for American Samoa and Puerto Rico).
State federal district or territory | State bird district bird or territory bird | Binomial nomenclature | Picture | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Yellowhammer (Northern flicker) | Colaptes auratus | 1927[4] | |
Alaska | Willow ptarmigan | Lagopus lagopus | 1955[5] | |
American Samoa | None (See List of birds of American Samoa) | — | — | — |
Arizona | Cactus wren | Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus | 1973[6] | |
Arkansas | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1929[7] | |
California | California quail | Callipepla californica | 1931[8] | |
Colorado | Lark bunting | Calamospiza melanocorys | 1931[9] | |
Connecticut | American robin | Turdus migratorius | 1943[10] | |
Delaware | Delaware Blue Hen | Gallus gallus | 1939[11] | |
District of Columbia | Wood thrush | Hylocichla mustelina | 1938[3] | |
Florida | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1927[12] | |
Georgia | Brown thrasher | Toxostoma rufum | 1928[13] | |
Guam | Guam rail (ko'ko') | Gallirallus owstoni | 2000[14] | |
Hawaii | Hawaiian goose (Nēnē) | Branta sandvicensis | 1957[15] | |
Idaho | Mountain bluebird | Sialia currucoides | 1931[16] | |
Illinois | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1929[17] | |
Indiana | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1933[18] | |
Iowa | Eastern goldfinch (American goldfinch) | Spinus tristis | 1933[19] | |
Kansas | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1933[20] | |
Kentucky | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1926[21] | |
Louisiana | Brown pelican | Pelecanus occidentalis | 1966[22] | |
Maine | Chickadee | Not specified in state law | 1927[23] | |
Maryland | Baltimore oriole | Icterus galbula | 1947[24] | |
Massachusetts | Black-capped chickadee | Poecile atricapilla | 1941[25] | |
Michigan | American robin | Turdus migratorius | 1931[26] | |
Minnesota | Common loon | Gavia immer | 1961[27] | |
Mississippi | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1944[28] | |
Missouri | Eastern bluebird | Sialia sialis | 1927[29] | |
Montana | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1941[30] | |
Nebraska | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1929[31] | |
Nevada | Mountain bluebird | Sialia currucoides | 1967[32] | |
New Hampshire | Purple finch | Carpodacus purpureus | 1957[33] | |
New Jersey | Eastern goldfinch (American goldfinch) | Spinus tristis | 1935[34] | |
New Mexico | Greater roadrunner | Geococcyx californianus | 1949[35] | |
New York | Eastern bluebird | Sialia sialis | 1970[36] | |
North Carolina | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1943[37] | |
North Dakota | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1970[38] | |
Northern Mariana Islands | Mariana fruit-dove | Ptilinopus roseicapilla | ? | |
Ohio | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1933[39] | |
Oklahoma | Scissor-tailed flycatcher | Tyrannus forficatus | 1951[40] | |
Oregon | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1927[41] | |
Pennsylvania | Ruffed Grouse | Bonasa umbellus | 1931[42] | |
Puerto Rico | None | — | — | —[43][44] |
Rhode Island | Rhode Island Red | Gallus gallus | 1954[45] | |
South Carolina | Carolina wren | Thryothorus ludovicianus | 1948[46] | |
South Dakota | Ring-necked pheasant | Phasianus colchicus | 1943[47] | |
Tennessee | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1933[48] | |
Texas | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1927[49] | |
Utah | California gull | Larus californicus | 1955[50] | |
Vermont | Hermit thrush | Catharus guttatus | 1941[51] | |
Virgin Islands (U.S.) | Bananaquit | Coereba flaveola | 1970 | |
Virginia | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1950[52] | |
Washington | Willow goldfinch (American goldfinch) | Spinus tristis | 1951[53] | |
West Virginia | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1949[54] | |
Wisconsin | American robin | Turdus migratorius | 1949[55] | |
Wyoming | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1927[56] | |
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 | Binomial nomenclature | Photography | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Wild turkey (state game bird) | Meleagris gallopavo | 1980[57] | |
Georgia | Bobwhite quail (state game bird) | Colinus virginianus | 1970[58] | |
Idaho | Peregrine falcon (state raptor) | Falco peregrinus | 2004[59] | |
Massachusetts | Wild turkey (state game bird) | Meleagris gallopavo | 1991[60] | |
Mississippi | Wood duck (state waterfowl) | Aix sponsa | 1974[61] | |
Missouri | Bobwhite quail (state game bird) | Colinus virginianus | 2007[62] | |
New Hampshire | Red-tailed hawk (state raptor) | Buteo jamaicensis | 2019[63] | |
Oklahoma | Wild turkey (state game bird) | Meleagris gallopavo | 1990[64] | |
South Carolina | Northern mockingbird (former state bird) | Mimus polyglottos | 1939 - 1948[46] | |
Wild turkey (state wild game bird) | Meleagris gallopavo | 1976[65] | ||
Wood duck (state duck) | Aix sponsa | 2009[66] | ||
Tennessee | Bobwhite quail (state wild game bird) | Colinus virginianus | 1987[67] | |
Wisconsin | Eastern mourning dove (state symbol of peace) | Zenaida macroura carolinensis | 1971[68] | |
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[lower-alpha 1] |
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[lower-alpha 2] |
Chickadee | 2[lower-alpha 3] |
Chicken | 2[lower-alpha 4] |
Eastern bluebird | 2 |
Mountain bluebird | 2 |
Wood Duck (state waterfowl or duck) | 2 |
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
U.S. state symbols by state | |
---|---|
| |
Territories and the federal district |
|
|
U.S. state symbols by type | |
---|---|
|
United States state-related lists | |
---|---|
List of states and territories of the United States | |
Demographics |
|
Economy |
|
Environment |
|
Geography | |
Government |
|
Health |
|
History |
|
Law |
|
Miscellaneous |
|
|