List of U.S. state birds facts for kids
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. 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. 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. 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 | |
Alaska | Willow ptarmigan | Lagopus lagopus | 1955 | |
American Samoa | None (See List of birds of American Samoa) |
— | — | — |
Arizona | Cactus wren | Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus |
1973 | |
Arkansas | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1929 | |
California | California quail | Callipepla californica | 1931 | |
Colorado | Lark bunting | Calamospiza melanocorys | 1931 | |
Connecticut | American robin | Turdus migratorius | 1943 | |
Delaware | Delaware Blue Hen | Gallus gallus | 1939 | |
District of Columbia | Wood thrush | Hylocichla mustelina | 1938 | |
Florida | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1927 | |
Georgia | Brown thrasher | Toxostoma rufum | 1928 | |
Guam | Guam rail (ko'ko') | Gallirallus owstoni | 2000 | |
Hawaii | Hawaiian goose (nēnē) | Branta sandvicensis | 1957 | |
Idaho | Mountain bluebird | Sialia currucoides | 1931 | |
Illinois | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1929 | |
Indiana | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1933 | |
Iowa | Eastern goldfinch (American goldfinch) | Spinus tristis | 1933 | |
Kansas | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1933 | |
Kentucky | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1926 | |
Louisiana | Brown pelican | Pelecanus occidentalis | 1966 | |
Maine | Chickadee | Species not specified (de facto Poecile atricapillus) |
1927 | |
Maryland | Baltimore oriole | Icterus galbula | 1947 | |
Massachusetts | Black-capped chickadee | Poecile atricapilla | 1941 | |
Michigan | American robin | Turdus migratorius | 1931 | |
Minnesota | Common loon | Gavia immer | 1961 | |
Mississippi | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1944 | |
Missouri | Eastern bluebird | Sialia sialis | 1927 | |
Montana | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1941 | |
Nebraska | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1929 | |
Nevada | Mountain bluebird | Sialia currucoides | 1967 | |
New Hampshire | Purple finch | Carpodacus purpureus | 1957 | |
New Jersey | Eastern goldfinch (American goldfinch) | Spinus tristis | 1935 | |
New Mexico | Greater roadrunner | Geococcyx californianus | 1949 | |
New York | Eastern bluebird | Sialia sialis | 1970 | |
North Carolina | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1943 | |
North Dakota | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1970 | |
Northern Mariana Islands | Mariana fruit-dove | Ptilinopus roseicapilla | ? | |
Ohio | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1933 | |
Oklahoma | Scissor-tailed flycatcher | Tyrannus forficatus | 1951 | |
Oregon | Western meadowlark (state songbird) |
Sturnella neglecta | 1927 2017 |
|
Pennsylvania | Ruffed grouse | — | — | — |
Puerto Rico | None | — | — | — |
Rhode Island | Rhode Island Red | Gallus gallus | 1954 | |
South Carolina | Carolina wren | Thryothorus ludovicianus | 1948 | |
South Dakota | Ring-necked pheasant | Phasianus colchicus | 1943 | |
Tennessee | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1933 | |
Texas | Northern mockingbird | Mimus polyglottos | 1927 | |
Utah | California gull | Larus californicus | 1955 | |
Vermont | Hermit thrush | Catharus guttatus | 1941 | |
Virgin Islands | Bananaquit | Coereba flaveola | 1970 | |
Virginia | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1950 | |
Washington | Willow goldfinch (American goldfinch) | Spinus tristis | 1951 | |
West Virginia | Northern cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis | 1949 | |
Wisconsin | American robin | Turdus migratorius | 1949 | |
Wyoming | Western meadowlark | Sturnella neglecta | 1927 |
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 | |
Georgia | Bobwhite quail (state game bird) |
Colinus virginianus | 1970 | |
Idaho | Peregrine falcon (state raptor) |
Falco peregrinus | 2004 | |
Massachusetts | Wild turkey (state game bird) |
Meleagris gallopavo | 1991 | |
Mississippi | Wood duck (state waterfowl) |
Aix sponsa | 1974 | |
Missouri | Bobwhite quail (state game bird) |
Colinus virginianus | 2007 | |
New Hampshire | Red-tailed hawk (state raptor) |
Buteo jamaicensis | 2019 | |
Oklahoma | Wild turkey (state game bird) |
Meleagris gallopavo | 1990 | |
Oregon | Osprey (state raptor) |
Pandion haliaetus | 2017 | |
Pennsylvania | Ruffed grouse (state game bird) |
Bonasa umbellus | 1931 | |
South Carolina | Northern mockingbird (former state bird) |
Mimus polyglottos | 1939 – 1948 |
|
Wild turkey (state wild game bird) |
Meleagris gallopavo | 1976 | ||
Wood duck (state duck) |
Aix sponsa | 2009 | ||
Tennessee | Bobwhite quail (state wild game bird) |
Colinus virginianus | 1987 | |
Wisconsin | Eastern mourning dove (state symbol of peace) |
Zenaida macroura carolinensis | 1971 |
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.
Bird | # of states |
---|---|
Northern cardinal | 7 |
Western meadowlark | 6 |
Northern mockingbird | 5 |
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 |
Chickadee | 2 |
Chicken | 2 |
Eastern bluebird | 2 |
Mountain bluebird | 2 |
Wood duck (state waterfowl or duck) |
2 |