TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Republican Rep. Jim Mooney filed a bill last Friday that would designate the American flamingo as the official state bird and the Florida scrub-jay as the official state songbird.
Under HB 81, the American flamingo would replace the mockingbird as the official state bird of Florida. The mockingbird has been the state bird of Florida since 1927.
Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee, and Mississippi also designate the mockingbird as its state bird. The bird is one of the more common backyard birds in the United States.
No states recognize the American Flamingo or scrub jay as their official birds.
Mooney represents District 120, which covers part of Miami-Dade and Monroe County in the Florida Keys. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), 95% of American Flamingo sightings have occurred within the Everglades, Biscayne Bay, and the Florida Keys.
American flamingos are native to Florida but disappeared around the 20th century. After 1925, captive flamingo colonies began to appear in South Florida, including a breeding colony at Hialeah Park Race Track in the 1930s.
Although found in Florida, American Flamingos are widely distributed throughout the Caribbean, including Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas.
According to the International Union of Conservation and Nature, the American Flamingo has a global population between 260,000 and 330,000. Although, just 1% are in Florida.
American flamingos are one of the largest species of flamingos in the world. Some flamingos average up to eight pounds and five feet. The bird is commonly recognized by its pink and red color which it gets from eating shrimp and other invertebrates.
A similar bill, co-sponsored by Mooney and Republican Rep. Liz Chaney, died in the Conservation & Resiliency Subcommittee in last year's session.
If passed, HB 81 would take effect on July 1.
