Mockingbird soon may lose its honorary Florida perch
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. >> After nearly a century on its lofty perch, the northern mockingbird may be singing its last melodies as the state bird of Florida.
An effort is taking flight to replace the far-ranging musical mockingbird with a bird that is more identifiable as distinctly Floridian.
“Part of what we’re working to do is highlight that Florida has these incredible species and we should recognize the bird that most represents Florida,” said state Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican whose legislation would strip the mockingbird of its title. “To me, it’s a fun conversation to have.”
Suggestions for a new state bird are all over the map, but four main contenders have emerged: the Florida scrub jay, flamingo, osprey and roseate spoonbill. The white ibis, swallow-tailed kite and wood stork also get mentioned. Some joke it should be the construction crane.
The gray-and-white mockingbird, celebrated in literature and music, has been Florida’s state bird since 1927 when the state was much more agricultural and less populated on the coasts. It may not be quite as representative of today’s bustling, modern Florida, and four other states also call it the state bird.
But it has supporters. Marion Hammer, a lobbyist in Florida for the National Rifle Association and executive director of the Unified Sportsmen of Florida, said the mockingbird deserves continued love.
The mockingbird can sing up to 200 different tunes and mimic artificial sounds like car alarms. Its Latin name translates to “many-tongued thrush.”
“The mockingbird is a well established, independent, prolific bird that doesn’t need government protection or our tax dollars to survive,” Hammer wrote. “It can be seen, watched, studied and enjoyed by children and adults on any given day in all areas of Florida.”
The same cannot be said of the Florida scrub jay, described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as the sole bird species found only in Florida. Trouble is, there are only about 4,000 of them concentrated in central Florida and the federal government lists them as threatened.
Brandes did not suggest a mockingbird replacement in his legislation. But separate bills in the state House and Senate would elevate the blue-headed scrub jay to the honorary post.
One of those bills is sponsored by Sen. Tina Polsky, a Boca Raton Democrat. She argued in a recent editorial that the scrub jay “represents the hardworking, family-oriented nature of our residents.”