ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The State Birds of the United States- Installment Four

Updated on February 6, 2018
Penny Sebring profile image

I am a writer and publisher in Fort Collins, Colorado. My articles on HubPages are based on a lifelong fascination with animals and nature.

Just about every American citizen is aware that the Bald Eagle is a symbol of the United States of America. The Bald Eagle is a powerful animal, and an imposing sight soaring high over mountains and seas, but no the only bird that we use to represent ourselves. This country has 50 states that bring it together, and each of those 50 states also has a bird they have chosen to represent them.

Source

The Rhode Island Red

The Rhode Island Red chicken is one of just two chickens on our list and the only one that is a recognized breed of chicken. It was designated as Rhode Island’s state bird in 1954. The Rhode Island Red is a medium-large chicken, known for it’s striking dark red feathers on both the male and female. They are a relatively hardy breed and handle most climates well. Although typically docile, the males have been known to be somewhat aggressive. In fact, I grew up with my father telling me stories of the big red rooster that used to chase him around the chicken yard. That rooster was my grandmother’s prized Rhode Island Red. They are used as both a meat and egg laying breed. They are possibly the best egg layers of the chicken breeds that are also used for meat, and they tend to continue laying eggs even under marginal or poor conditions.

Source

South Carolina and the Carolina Wren

The Carolina Wren was chosen as the state bird of South Carolina in 1948 and placed on the state quarter in 2001. It is a little cinnamon-colored bird with a distinctive white stripe above its eye, which is sometimes hard to spot. They can easily be heard throughout their range as they demonstrate loud, high-pitched chirps and whistles throughout the year and at all times of the day. They are a non-migratory Wren, and they are often severely affected by cold weather. Their range has been extending north in the last century, possibly due to the gradually warmer winters. They are not exceptionally strong fliers and can most often be seen foraging on the ground for insects. Although most birds only meet up during the breeding season, the male and female pair up at any time of year. Once paired, the two remain together throughout their life, building nests, raising young and even foraging side by side.

Source

The Ring Necked Pheasant of South Dakota

In 1943 South Dakota chose the ring-necked pheasant as their state bird, and like the state bird of South Carolina, they were featured on the state quarter. The male ring-necked pheasant is a brown and russet colored bird with an eye-catching green and blue hood above a stark white ring of feathers around the neck, and a vivid red patch around the eyes. The females colors are not as intense, but they are still an attractive light golden brown with striking patterning. They dwell in long grasses and at the edges of wetlands and agricultural fields where they spend most of their time searching for insects, seeds, and vegetation. In the autumn and winter they gather in large flocks to forage and roost, but during the breeding season, a dominant male will gather with several females to reproduce. The females breed only once per year although the young are quick to become independent, staying with their mothers for less than two months.

Source

Utah and the Californian Gull

Utah is the only state to have a state bird that is named after a different state than itself. Utah chose the California Gull in 1955, one hundred and seven years after the California Gull saved Utah citizens by eating the crickets that were decimating the settlers first food crops. It is a medium-sized gull, with the typical grey and white coloring. Like all gulls the California gull is an opportunistic feeder, eating fish, fruit, insects, small mammals, earthworms, and even garbage at times. Like its diet, its means of getting food are also varied. While on land they forage along the ground, even following plows to gain more insects and grain, but when hunting fish and small mammals, they tend to be highly acrobatic fliers who dive down to capture their prey. Although they tend to be found near the oceanic coastlines in the winter, they stay farther inland for breeding in the summer. Their breeding grounds have a tendency to be large and loud with up to a thousand active nests at a time. Mated pairs are monogamous and work together to raise the chicks, from nest building to feeding the young.

The Vermont Thrush, flicking its tail

Vermont’s Hermit Thrush

The hermit thrush is a similar shape to the American robin, but it is slightly smaller, and its coloring is much less dramatic. Both the male and female are an unpretentious light brown color with speckled underparts and a distinctly rust colored tail, which it flicks often. They are the most widespread thrush in North America with the exception of the American Robin, and their population has been rising steadily since 1966. They can inhabit a wide variety of environments and are found in most of the forests in their range. During the spring and summer months they feed mainly on insects such as beetles, ants, and wasps, but during the winter months they rely more on fruit and wild berries. They are yet another monogamous variety of bird who cooperate to raise the young, with the male often bringing the food to the nest and the female actually feeding it to the chicks. They can raise two or three broods per breeding season because the young, who are hatched while blind and featherless are ready to leave the nest usually within just two weeks.

Did you know what your state bird was?

See results

References

[1] http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/poultry/chickens/rhodeislandred/index.htm

[2] http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/Rhode-Island-B97.aspx

[3] http://statesymbolsusa.org/Lists/state_birds_list.html

[4] http://birds.audubon.org/birdid

[5] http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189


working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)