Published Articles

Anything but the mockingbird: It’s time to change the Florida state bird

By Hilary Flower and Jerry Lorenz

“Hey Florida, can we talk about our state bird? Does it really have to be the northern mockingbird? Or could we make it literally any other bird?

Nothing against the northern mockingbird. Its scientific name, Mimus polyglottos, means “many-tongued mimic,” spotlighting its superpower of reproducing hundreds of bird calls with uncanny accuracy. That’s amazing! But for Florida? Imitating other places is not exactly our brand.

What bird do you think best represents Florida? There’s the osprey, the reddish egret, the brown pelican, the snowy egret, the great egret, the great blue and great white herons… We are spoiled for choice!”

12/11/25
Tampa Bay Times

The flamingo’s long history in Florida. Will it become the state bird?

By Hilary Flower

“Picture yourself at Fort De Soto park, padding barefoot in the sand, when you come around a bend and see a flamingo in the shallow water not fifty yards away. Perhaps you were one of the lucky ones in 2023 to see Peaches, brought to us on the winds of Hurricane Idalia.

Now rewind the clock 200 years on that same beach. In 1827, Lt. George McCall, a 25-year-old naturalist, emerged from the dunes and spotted something he’d only seen in museums. The flamingo preened with its wing outstretched. For McCall, there was only one thing to do: “The whitish spot under the wing…offered a distinct target … my rifle was raised, and … the flamingo fell dead upon the water.”

2/4/25
Sun Sentinel Media Group

Think pink: Why Florida needs the flamingo as a state bird

By Hilary Flower and Ruscena Wiederholt

“At a dinner party Saturday evening, I asked the dozen Florida friends seated around the table why the flamingo is so often used as a symbol for Florida. “Because it’s so striking and pink.” “Because it’s so beautiful.” “Because it’s so exotic looking.”

I probed, “And is it native? Is it supposed to live here? Does it live here?”

My friends frowned, and looked at each other uncertainly. They didn’t think so. We do have captive ones, of course, in places like Sunken Gardens. One friend said, “Isn’t it from Africa? Or the Caribbean?”

Until recently, the official government stance was similar.”