TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s state bird could change later this year, as bills make their way through the Florida Legislature.
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SB 880, filed by State Sen. Ileana Garcia (R) Miami, has cleared a hurdle in the Senate. It is asking the state to designate the American Flamingo as the official state bird, replacing the northern Mockingbird and the state songbird as the Florida scrub-jay.
A similar bill, HB 81, was filed by State Rep. Jim Mooney (R-Islamorada) in the Florida House.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, American flamingos have been observed along much of the state’s coast; however, outside of Hialeah, more than 95% of observations have occurred within the Everglades, Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys. In addition, flamingos are increasingly being reported in the shallow treatment wetlands created along the northern fringe of the Everglades.
The FWC considers flamingos native to Florida. Flamingos were native to Florida but disappeared from the state around the turn of the 20th century. After about 1925, people started captive colonies of flamingos in South Florida, including a breeding colony at Hialeah Park Race Track in the 1930s, which still remains. A growing body of evidence over the years suggests that at least some American flamingos in Florida have arrived on their own from outside of the state. The FWC treats flamingos as native species protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
After Hurricane Idalia in 2023, the rose-colored birds were spotted in the Everglades and hanging around in the Florida Keys.
If passed, the bill would take effect on July 1.