10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2015

Florida is one of America’s great avian hot spots, renowned for its impressive bird diversity. The official Florida checklist counts over 500 species, and thus Florida citizens had a wealth of State Bird candidates to choose from when they named the Florida state bird in 1927. The striking Snail Kite?

Florida 166

Florida Arkansas Legislature Mississippi 166

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2015

In fact, of all the world’s pelican species, only the Brown Pelican and Peruvian Pelican perform those plunges. In 1961 they stopped breeding in Louisiana and a few years later disappeared altogether, prompting the legislature to name them the state bird in 1966. In 1970 the Brown Pelican was listed as nationally endangered.

Louisiana 160

Louisiana Pelicans Legislature Seals 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2016

Baltimore Orioles spend their winters in Florida, Central, and South America, and migrate north to breed in much of the Eastern United States. It’s true that many know the bird because of Baltimore’s baseball team, but the species’ history with Maryland goes back much further.

Maryland 103

Maryland Baltimore United States Legislature 103

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2019

More than 5,000 bird species in the world make some kind of seasonal movement. In the spring (when they look like they do — the males, that is — in the photo on the left, above) they fly more than six thousand miles from the Amazon Basin to the Arctic, via Florida and Ohio.

Ohio 196

Ohio Bats Legislature Ducks 196