List of U.S. state birds

Below is a list of U.S. state birds as designated by each state's legislature. The list also contains U.S. territory birds as designated by each territory's legislature, as well as the District of Columbia's bird. The selection of state birds began in 1927, when the legislatures for Alabama, Florida, Maine, Missouri, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming selected their state birds. The last state to choose its bird was Arizona in 1973. Alaska, California, and South Dakota permit hunting of their state birds. Pennsylvania has adopted a "state game bird" but not a state bird, while 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.

Each of the five inhabited territories of the United States has a designated territorial bird (except for American Samoa). The District of Columbia designated a district bird in 1938.^[1]

Table[edit]

State or territory	State bird / Territory bird	Binomial nomenclature	Photography	Year
Alabama	Yellowhammer (state bird)	Colaptes auratus		1927[2]
	Wild turkey (state game bird)	Meleagris gallopavo		1980[3]
Alaska	Willow ptarmigan	Lagopus lagopus		1955[4]
American Samoa	None (See List of birds of American Samoa)	—	—	—
Arizona	Cactus wren	Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus		1973[5]
Arkansas	Northern mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos		1929[6]
California	California quail	Callipepla californica		1931[7]
Colorado	Lark bunting	Calamospiza melanocorys		1931[8]
Connecticut	American robin	Turdus migratorius		1943[9]
Delaware	Delaware Blue Hen	Gallus gallus		1939[10]
District of Columbia	Wood thrush	Hylocichla mustelina		1938[1]
Florida	Northern mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos		1927[11]
Georgia	Brown thrasher (state bird)	Toxostoma rufum		1928[12]
	Bobwhite quail (state game bird)	Colinus virginianus		1970[13]
Guam	Guam rail (ko'ko')	Gallirallus owstoni		?
Hawaii	Hawaiian goose (Nēnē)	Branta sandvicensis		1957[14]
Idaho	Mountain bluebird	Sialia currucoides		1931[15]
Illinois	Northern cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis		1929[16]
Indiana	Northern cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis		1933[17]
Iowa	Eastern goldfinch also known as the American goldfinch	Spinus tristis		1933[18]
Kansas	Western meadowlark	Sturnella neglecta		1933[19]
Kentucky	Northern cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis		1942[20]
Louisiana	Brown pelican	Pelecanus occidentalis		1966[21]
Maine	Black-capped chickadee	Poecile atricapilla		1927[22]
Maryland	Baltimore oriole	Icterus galbula		1947[23]
Massachusetts	Black-capped chickadee (state bird)	Poecile atricapilla		1941[24]
	Wild turkey (state game bird)	Meleagris gallopavo		1991[25]
Michigan	American robin	Turdus migratorius		1931[26]
Minnesota	Common loon	Gavia immer		1961[27]
Mississippi	Northern mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos		1944[28]
	Wood duck (state waterfowl)	Aix sponsa		1974[29]
Missouri	Eastern bluebird	Sialia sialis		1927[30]
	Bobwhite quail (state game bird)	Colinus virginianus		2007[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 also known as the American Goldfinch	Spinus tristis		1935[36]
New Mexico	Roadrunner also known as the 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]
	Wild turkey (state game bird)	Meleagris gallopavo		1990[43]
Oregon	Western meadowlark	Sturnella neglecta		1927[44]
Pennsylvania	Ruffed grouse (state game bird)	Bonasa umbellus		1931[45]
Puerto Rico	Puerto Rican spindalis	Spindalis portoricensis		?
Rhode Island	Rhode Island Red	Gallus gallus		1954[46]
South Carolina	Northern mockingbird (former state bird)	Mimus polyglottos		1939 - 1948[47]
	Carolina wren	Thryothorus ludovicianus		1948[47]
	Wild turkey (state wild game bird)	Meleagris gallopavo		1976[48]
South Dakota	Ring-necked pheasant	Phasianus colchicus		1943[49]
Tennessee	Northern mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos		1933[50]
	Bobwhite quail (state wild game bird)	Colinus virginianus		1987[51]
Texas	Northern mockingbird	Mimus polyglottos		1927[52]
Utah	California gull	Larus californicus		1955[53]
Vermont	Hermit thrush	Catharus guttatus		1941[54]
Virgin Islands (U.S.)	Bananaquit	Coereba flaveola		1970
Virginia	Northern cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis		1950[55]
Washington	Willow goldfinch also known as the American goldfinch	Spinus tristis		1951[56]
West Virginia	Northern cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis		1949[57]
Wisconsin	American robin	Turdus migratorius		1949[58]
Wyoming	Western meadowlark	Sturnella neglecta		1927[59]

References[edit]

External links[edit]