Florida’s mockingbird is fighting to save its title as state bird, which it has held for nearly 100 years, as lawmakers consider replacing it with two other native birds – the flamingo and the Florida scrub jay.
It’s being called the “Battle of the Birds.”
The northern mockingbird migrated to Florida like many residents. The bird is known for mimicking the calls of other birds.
Florida named the mockingbird its state bird back in 1927, when the state was much more agricultural and less populated on the coasts. It may not be quite as representative of today’s bustling, modern Florida — and four other states also call it the state bird.
This legislative session isn’t the first time it’s met a challenge, but it has always prevailed.
The contenders are Florida natives
The birds are now forced to defend their reign again as lawmakers want to crown the Florida scrub jay the state songbird.
“It’s found here and nowhere else in the world. It is the only bird that is truly endemic to Florida,” Johnson said.
A title it would share alongside the American flamingo as Florida’s state bird.
“This is still the only state in the country where you can see them regularly,” Oscar Johnson, an assistant professor of ornithology at Florida Gulf Coast University, said.
The matter is now up to state lawmakers, and the governor will have to sign the bill designating the birds’ new titles.
