# How often do you see your state bird? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 26, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324 "2017-04-26T21:14:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/41 "2017-04-27T02:05:57Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Oregon Western Meadowlark - hmmm - I could not tell you the last time I saw one. Been a while. Still raining and pretending to winter on though, so we haven’t been out looking yet. I used to _hear_ them all the time, love their little tune. Apparently, the Manitoba Provincial Bird was the Great Grey Owl, never saw that, or the Great Horned Owl out here (Alberta). Once I move to Ontario, I’m good, I see loons every summer at Falcon Lake and Lake of the Woods. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/42 "2017-04-27T02:07:38Z")
California quails, anytime I am hiking. They don’t live much in the cities but are still common in the foothills. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/43 "2017-04-27T02:10:55Z")
I just looked it up and Massachusetts also has the Wild Turkey as the state game bird. Those damned things are everywhere including my yard and they are quite cocky. If they keep up their attitude, I am going to have to take both them and deer to court to settle the property rights issues once and for all. All I ask is that they move when I need to park or leave. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/44 "2017-04-27T02:27:34Z")
Tennessee has mockingbirds, and I see them daily. Interesting songs, and great scrappers at the feeders. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/45 "2017-04-27T02:41:42Z")
[Gang-gang cockatoo](https://www.parrots.org/encyclopedia/gang-gang-cockatoo/) we see them a few times a year, mainly in Spring/Autumn. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/46 "2017-04-27T02:57:32Z")
Texas Mockingbird – probably third most common bird in my yard. The first two (Great tailed grackle and White-winged dove) were not present in this range before about 50 years ago. So the Mockingbird would probably have been the most common bird here a half a century ago. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/47 "2017-04-27T03:07:24Z")
Massachusetts is the turkey and I use to see some in our back yard , there be would a mom with her babies . There was farm land behind my condo and my daughter and granddaughter would hear the turkeys gobbling while eating ticks . The first time my dog saw a wild turkey he sat down and his jaw almost hit the ground ! LOL! The bird was bigger than him. ---
**Author:** ![Marlonius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Marlonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlonius)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/48 "2017-04-27T03:20:32Z")
Alberta - Great Horned Owl. I see them a few times a year. They’re nocturnal but sometimes I catch them at dusk in winter. I live in a rural area and am outside a lot. I imagine most Albertans have never seen one. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/49 "2017-04-27T03:23:59Z")
I have been hearing our state (GA) game bird each morning for a week now. It’s a bobwhite. I guess it could be an overachieving mockingbird, however. I had to look up our regular state bird. I kinda thought it was the mockingbird, but it’s the brown thrasher. I’m not sure, but I think I saw one of of those yesterday. Today I have seen cardinals, bluebirds, and pileated woodpeckers. IN, OH, KY and IL all have the cardinal for a state bird. How original! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/50 "2017-04-27T03:51:09Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > IN, OH, KY and IL all have the cardinal for a state bird. How original! So does VA. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/51 "2017-04-27T03:59:55Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > California quails, anytime I am hiking. They don’t live much in the cities but are still common in the foothills. Sure they do, just not everywhere. I see several when walking the dog or they dart in front of the car. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/52 "2017-04-27T04:00:51Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Purple finch – I don’t think I’ve seen one yet. I’ve always wondered why New Hampshire’s state bird is the purple finch. They’re hardly common. There was a month or so the summer before last when our bird feeder was swarmed by purple finches and yellow finches, who have not ever (or maybe yet) returned. That month is only the second time I’ve ever seen a purple finch. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/53 "2017-04-27T04:45:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > So does VA. And West Virginia and North Carolina. If I were in charge of such things, I’d change Illinois’ to the red-winged blackbird. Not that it’s unique to IL but neither is the cardinal. And, unlike the cardinal, no other state uses it as their bird. Plus, I just like 'em. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/54 "2017-04-27T05:08:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Illinois is also the cardinal, and I see one maybe once a month? I’m in suburban Chicago, in an area with a lot of trees and forest preserves. I’d guess I see cardinals in my yard, or in the neighborhood, at least once or twice a week. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/55 "2017-04-27T05:57:35Z")
I don’t ever remember seeing or hearing a western meadowlark here in the Willamette Valley, though it’s likely I’m just missing them, since I live in a pretty woodsy area. I used to hear them and see them all the time when I lived in far eastern Ontario, Oregon. We always said they sang “Idaho is a hell of a place to live.” It’s a great little descending bubbling brook of a song. The birds I enjoy most close to home are Steller’s Jays. My neighborhood also has great flocks of wild turkeys, and they are really impressive birds. The other day I saw three turkeys chasing each other in a circle around and around and around a rhododendron. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/56 "2017-04-27T09:14:28Z")
My country’s national bird is the [Hoopoe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoopoe), and while they don’t visit the city that often, I’ve seen them a couple of times in parks. Lovely plumage. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/57 "2017-04-27T11:27:41Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Ruffed grouse - saw one two days ago. They’re decently common if you’re in the right habitat. I rarely see grouse in our fields/woods, but when I do they scare the crap out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/58 "2017-04-27T12:00:53Z")
I don’t see as many western meadowlarks as I used to, but still see (or hear) them occasionally. At our old house we used to have a big field butting up to the edge of the back yard and I’d see them all the time. And I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I never saw the state bird of my home state (Missouri - the eastern bluebird) until long after I had moved to Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/59 "2017-04-27T12:02:29Z")
Robins. See 'em just about every day. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324/60 "2017-04-27T12:43:58Z")
Out of idle curiosity I looked on Wikipedia for a list of US state birds. I notice that in addition to having a state bird, several states have a state _game bird_, but Mississippi seems to stand alone in having a state _waterfowl_ (Wood duck). Anyone have any idea why Mississippi decided to do this? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-see-your-state-bird/785324.md?page=4)