State Birds
While the bald eagle has been the accepted emblem of the United States since 1782, state birds are most often selected by a state's legislature or by gubernatorial proclamation.
In most cases these "official birds" are indigenous to the state, but in some cases, a bird is chosen as a result of tradition and then declared official. For instance, the brown pelican was chosen as Louisiana's state bird because it is included as part of the state seal which was approved in 1902. However, the brown pelican wasn't declared the official state bird until 1966.
Shared State Birds
While each state chooses their own state bird, not all state birds are unique to only one state. Some states share the same bird to represent them. The cardinal is the most popular among state birds. It is the official state bird in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. The second most popular is the western meadowlark in six states. Other states like Alaska and Hawaii have named birds unique to their state. Another interesting tidbit is that some states have two official birds.
History and State Birds
Many state birds were chosen decades ago and each provides an interesting look at the history of the state and what was happening at the time the bird was chosen. The last state to officially select a state bird was New York when, in1970, Governor Rockefeller signed a bill naming the eastern bluebird as the official state bird. While people tend to think naming a single bird to represent a state should not be difficult, that has not always been the case. In New York, the blue bird met some opposition as many who lived in the city were more familiar with sparrows and pigeons.