List of U.S. state birds

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 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 is displayed 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 (Hawaiian goose)	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]

Notes

1. The western meadowlark was proclaimed the state bird of Oregon by Governor I. L. Patterson in 1927, but the Legislative Assembly never adopted it as official state bird. In 2017, the western meadowlark was made the official state songbird and the osprey was made the official state raptor.^[43]
2. The ruffed grouse was named Pennsylvania's "state game bird" per 1931 Act 234.^[46]

Other state birds

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]

States with the same state bird

Some state birds are shared between multiple states. Of the 50 states, a total of 32 do not have a unique state bird.

  Northern cardinal
  Western meadowlark
  Northern mockingbird
  American robin
  American goldfinch
  Chickadee
  Chicken
  Eastern bluebird
  Mountain bluebird
  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

See also

• List of U.S. state dinosaurs

Notes

1. and formerly South Carolina
2. 2 as "eastern goldfinch", 1 as "willow goldfinch"
3. 1 as "black-capped chickadee", 1 as "chickadee"
4. 1 as "Rhode Island Red", 1 as "Delaware Blue Hen"

References

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External links