Is your state bird a stupid state bird?
 

The author hits a point that I have long advocated - TEXAS should have a distinctive state bird, not one we share with a bunch of other states. I like his suggestions!

http://www.slate.com/articles/health...wpisrc=flyouts

"States should have to put more thought into their state bird than I put into picking my socks in the morning. “Ugh, state bird? I dunno, what're the guys next to us doing? Cardinal? OK, let's do that too. Yeah put it on all the signs. Nah, no time to research the bill color, let's just go.” It’s the official state bird! Well, since all these jackanape states are too busy passing laws requiring everyone to own guns or whatever to consider what their state bird should be, I guess I’ll have to do it."

One of my husband's relatives (the one who's perping Zeta) actually got the legislature to pass something naming the green tree frog as Georgia's state amphibian. State *amphibian*? They didn't have better things to do that pass that?

His cousin was a state senator at the time or that bill would've been dead in the water.

I love his animosity for the cardinal and mockingbird. Fun article.

I've always thought our State bird should be the Mosquito...but maybe that's just a Houston thing

I don't like his suggestion for Michigan (One of the many American Robin states) because it should be a bird that people who live in the state see frequently, IMO. He wants some rare bird that I've never heard of after living here my whole life and which is almost extinct. What happens when your state bird disappears off the planet? Don't you need a new bird then?

Hawaii's state bird should be the chicken! Those things are everywhere...

How about an official state sandwich, candy, and candy bar...?

http://voices.yahoo.com/fluffernutte...07.html?cat=22

ETA: The end of the article names some states that have a state pie, cookie, pastry, etc.

The writer was displeased with the Mountain Bluebird as Nevada's State bird. I don't get what else it should be, they are very pretty and an excellent choice in my opinion . The Snowcock that he suggests as a more suitable choice is barely ever seen and is present in a very small area in the northeastern corner of the state.

One of the things that I actually really love about Oklahoma is our state bird, which is a cool looking bird with a cool name that you actually see around: the scissor-tailed flycatcher.

Rammer Jammer
Yellow Hammer
Give 'em hell
Alabama!
http://www.postcardsfrom.com/gfx/albird.gif

Maryland's state bird is the Baltimore Oriole. Not sure if the baseball team was named after the state bird or vice versa.

Maryland also has an official state dessert; the Smith Island cake
http://smithislandcake.com/?gclid=CJ...FRCe4AodzjsAWA

Very yummy! (the cake, not the bird)

He is looking at it from the view of an expert birder, not the average Joe. That being said, he does have a point of the need for distinctness.

As far as Florida goes.....
 

i agree with the author.

"9. Florida. Official state bird: northern mockingbird
I am finishing this post the next day because I had to go buy a new computer after I threw my last one out the window when I read that Florida’s state bird was the northern mockingbird. I cannot think of a more pathetic choice for one of the most bird-rich states in the nation. What’s their state beverage, a half-glass of warm tap water?
What it should be: American flamingo"

We have some amazing birds (many of which show up in my back yard!) and I'd love to see one of them as our state bird. My pick would be a sand hill crane-- but we have brown pellicans, great blue heron... any of those or the flamingo would be great. Hell, even Donald Duck would be a better state bird than a mockingbird. :rolleyes:

The team, which relocated to Baltimore from St. Louis in 1954 (the St. Louis Browns) was named for the state bird.

Input from a cardinal state: In lots of instances in the first half of the 20th Century, when many of the more basic state symbols were adopted, legislatures had school children vote on what should be made the state bird, flower or tree. At least, that's how it worked here for those things, and that explains some of the more . . . pedestrian . . . choices.

Personally, I never saw the point in every state having an official state bird. If there is a bird that has a natural association with a state or conveys a natural symbolism, then great. (Pelicans and Louisiana or Orioles and Maryland come to mind.) But if there's not, why adopt one just for the sake of having a state bird? Use other symbols that have a more natural association.

Whoa. He called Arizona's Cactus Wren "boring". Granted, we gotta lotta birds and I'd love to see the Elegant Trogon as our state bird. Considering that it's so damned rare most people have never seen one, that isn't going to happen. The Vermillion Flycatcher is pretty awesome too. Just thankful it isn't the Roadrunner. HATE them. They are mean.

Enjoyed the article!

Completely agree! They are so distinctive and I love seeing their scissor tails when they sit on wires. I am so glad it isn't some practically extinct bird that you would never actually see anywhere.

I love that Louisiana has the Brown Pelican. It fits the state.

Texas, btw, has so many State things it's funny. On a trip to Austin during residency, I went to the state capital and looked through a computer on display that lists such things as the State Modern Cooking Utensil, the State Flowering Shrub, the State Handgun and the State Long gun. It went on and on and on. We got a kick out of wondering who came up with all of them.

"Road Runner, if he catches you you're through."

Couldn't resist! Ha!

Love the Mississippi State Bird, the Mocking bird. All other States that have the Mockingbird should drop it for something else.

Cool bit of trivia; MysticCat! Thanks :)

I would contend that the state bird of Iowa should be the Eagle http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles
but when state bird naming was popular, they were probably so rare as to be extinct. This link, while not terribly exciting now is mesmerizing while you're waiting for the eggs to hatch. You will somehow kill hours watching an eagle protect her eggs.

I think it went, "Roadrunner, the coyote's after you; roadrunner, if he catches you, you're through!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMAVMgbNTJ8

I always thought Ohio had the cardinal as the state bird because it's red, and scarlet is one of OSU's colors. Though I guess if that's the case, the Scarlet Tanager would have been a great alternative. I see a nesting pair at work a few times a week. The males are gorgeous. Indigo buntings are nice, but... there's no Ohio connection there. I also like the Coopers Hawk, Barn Owl or Wood Duck or one of the teals for Ohio.

I agree with the Alabama proposed change because red-cockaded woodpeckers are very rare.
I also agree with his suggestions for CT, TN and KY, their warblers are the obvious choice, and Kirtlands Warbler the RAREST OF THEM ALL should def be repped by MI.
I think the Jersey state bird should be the Cape May warbler though. I like the Mississippi Kite for MS, and the Carolina Chickadee makes sense for NC.


I'm a birder. I can eat this shit up all damn day!

Except that the Carolina Chickadee is named for South Carolina.

So, uh, no.

Semantics. ;)

And Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and probably Michigan too.

And I would guess that they wouldn't name an eagle the official bird for any state, as the bald eagle is the national bird of the United States.

I second this. But you're right, probably just a houston thing.

You know who has this "Official State" crap right? The United Kingdom.

England: Lion
Scotland: Unicorn
Wales: Y Ddraig Goch (Welsh Dragon)


It kinda says "Eff you, birds of other nations".

Hahahahahaha!


No.

He didn't have any advice for Missouri, but I'd chose the Blue Heron or Great Egret because Missouri is part of the Mississippi River Flyway, and they are cool, distinct birds that migrate along the flyway.

If not that, Missouri should get the kestral. Kestrals are my favorite hawks and there are a lot of them around here in the winter.