50 Fun Facts About State Animals

Which bird is the state bird of seven states, more than any other?

An Amtrak train between Chicago and Washington is named for it because it passes through six of them.

Which bird represents six states, including Kansas, Montana and Wyoming?

Oregon briefly debated swapping it for the osprey in 2017; a compromise kept both.

Which bird is the state bird of five states, including Texas and Tennessee?

It also turns up in book titles, songs and lullabies.

What is the national bird of the United States?

Banning DDT and eagle hunting brought it back from the brink in the lower 48.

Which animal is the national mammal of the United States?

It was given the title in 2016 and is also the state animal of Kansas.

Which goose has been Hawaii's state bird since 1957?

It is found wild only on Maui, Kauai, Molokai and the Big Island.

What is the state bird of New Mexico?

It appeared on a 1982 sheet of 20-cent stamps showing all 50 state birds and flowers.

Which grouse was adopted as Alaska's state bird in 1955?

It is also the regional bird of Southern Lapland.

Which bird on Louisiana's flag and seal is its official state bird?

It is also the national bird of Barbados and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

What is the state bird of Maryland?

It is also the namesake and mascot of the city's baseball team.

Which bird, the model for the old Twitter logo, is the state bird of Idaho and Nevada?

Poets have long treated the bluebird as a bearer of joy.

Which bird with dramatic forked tail feathers is Oklahoma's state bird?

It appears in flight, tail spread, on the back of the Oklahoma state quarter.

Rhode Island's official state bird is what kind of animal?

The Rhode Island Red was bred there in the late 1800s for both meat and eggs.

Which desert bird, the largest of its family in the country, is Arizona's state bird?

It is endemic to the deserts of the Southwest and northern Mexico.

Which bird, named Minnesota's state bird in 1961, appears on the state quarter?

It is also on Canada's one-dollar coin, the loonie.

Which bird has been Colorado's state bird since 1931?

The same year, California chose its quail.

What is the state bird of Vermont?

The state animal is a horse breed.

Which bird is Pennsylvania's official state game bird?

The state's official amphibian, since 2019, is a giant salamander.

Delaware's official bird, adopted in 1939, is which strain of gamecock?

The cardinal was also a candidate but lost out.

What is the state bird of Georgia?

It is the only thrasher that lives mainly east of the Rockies.

Which bird is the state bird of both Massachusetts and Maine?

It is also the provincial bird of New Brunswick.

Which bird was designated New Hampshire's state bird in 1957?

The New Hampshire red hen was proposed but lost out.

Which bird is the state bird of Missouri and New York?

New York's state mammal is the beaver.

Which ground-dwelling bird became the Golden State's state bird in 1931?

The state animal, an extinct grizzly, followed in 1953.

Which thrush is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin?

It also appeared on a Canadian $2 note in 1986.

Which bird did Washington schoolchildren pick as state bird in 1951?

Washington calls it the willow goldfinch; New Jersey calls it the eastern goldfinch.

Alabama's state bird, the yellowhammer, is which species?

The nickname was first applied to Confederate soldiers from the state during the Civil War.

Which member of the raccoon family is the state mammal of Arizona?

It has been legally trapped for its fur and is fully protected in California.

Who chose the Florida panther as Florida's official animal in 1982?

The cat later appeared on a 2023 Endangered Species forever stamp.

The Golden State's official animal, adopted in 1953, is which extinct creature?

It still flies on the state flag, which first appeared during the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt.

Which animal is the state animal of ten states, including Georgia, Michigan and Ohio?

It also inspired the Milwaukee Bucks and tops Vermont's coat of arms.

Which animal is Colorado's state animal and Alberta's provincial mammal?

Nevada chose its desert cousin as state mammal instead.

Which animal is the official state mammal of both Oregon and New York?

It is also one of Canada's national symbols.

Which horse breed is the state animal of Vermont and state horse of Massachusetts?

The compact, versatile breed is usually bay, black or chestnut.

Which spotted breed became Idaho's state horse in 1975?

An Appaloosa also serves as a mascot for the Florida State Seminoles.

Which marine mammal is the official state mammal of Hawaii?

Its Hawaiian name means "dog that runs in rough water".

What is the official mammal of the District of Columbia?

It was chosen in 2020.

What is the state animal of Montana?

California's state animal is also a grizzly, despite its being extinct there.

Which reptile represents Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi?

The species was removed from the endangered list in 1987.

Which reptile did Vermont adopt in 1994 at the suggestion of schoolchildren?

Michigan followed in 1995 after fifth-graders in Niles noticed the state had no reptile.

Which reptile is the official state reptile of California and Nevada?

Its species name honors the Swiss-American zoologist Louis Agassiz.

Which venomous lizard became Utah's official state reptile in 2019?

A Gila monster named Chance is the mascot of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Which giant salamander became Pennsylvania's state amphibian in 2019?

House members had argued that Wehrle's salamander deserved the honor.

Which burrowing reptile represents Georgia and is honored separately by Florida?

Its genus, Gopherus, contains the only tortoises native to North America.

Which sea turtle is South Carolina's official state reptile?

Florida lists it separately as the state saltwater reptile.

Which reptile represents both North Carolina and Tennessee?

Bills to honor it in Virginia failed partly because of its close links to North Carolina.

Which amphibian represents Missouri, Ohio and Oklahoma?

It is also a standard dissection specimen in biology classes worldwide.

Which fish is the official state fish of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Tennessee?

Around 8 million anglers fish for it every year.

Which fish did the Minnesota legislature declare the official state fish in 1965?

Three towns, two of them named Garrison, claim to be the Walleye Capital of the World.

Which salmon, called king salmon by Alaskans, is the state fish of Alaska and Oregon?

Several Pacific Northwest tribes relied on it as a primary food.