The Northern Mockingbird has been the State Bird of Florida since 1927. The Northern Mockingbird is not exclusive to Florida as it is also the state bird of Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas. The Northern Mockingbird breeds in the U.S., Canada, the Bahamas, Northern Mexico, the Caymen Islands and the Greater Antilles.
After reigning for almost a century as Florida’s state bird, the future of the Mockingbird remaining our state bird is up for debate.
Many residents and state representatives would like to see a bird more fitting to modern-day Florida and more exclusive to the tropical Sunshine State.
The top contenders being debated are:
- The Osprey
- The Roseate Spoonbill
- The Scrub Jay
- The Flamingo
Beautiful Flamingo is a contenderPhoto byJami Lynn Bloedow (Author)
The Roseate Spoonbill is a contenderPhoto byPaul CrookonUnsplash
Northern Mockingbirds are intelligent birds and they are quite entertaining. They have excellent vocal abilities. I witness this daily as Mockingbirds have taken up residence in my yard for quite some time. They can sing up to 200 songs, including the same songs as many other birds, and they can mimic the sounds of insects, frogs, wildlife, and some machinery sounds such as car horns and alarms. They are pretty incredible birds! We have one that makes sounds like a kitten in our bushes.