What Is the Bird of the United States? National and State Birds

The official bird of the United States is the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). This became formal federal law on December 23, 2024, when Congress enacted Public Law 118-206, amending Title 36 of the U.S. Code to designate the bald eagle as the national bird. If you were looking for the state bird of a specific state, that's a separate designation entirely, and every one of the 50 states has its own official bird chosen independently.

National bird vs. state birds: two different things

The phrase "bird of the United States" can mean two genuinely different things, and it's worth separating them clearly before going further. The first meaning is the national bird, which is the bald eagle, recognized at the federal level and representing the country as a whole. The second meaning, which is actually what most people are searching for, is the state bird of a particular U. Oklahoma’s state bird is the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher state bird of a particular U. S. state. S. state. These are designated by individual state legislatures, not by Congress, and they vary widely from state to state.

The confusion is understandable. When someone types "what is the bird of the United States," they might be asking about the national symbol, or they might be trying to remember which bird represents their home state. Both are legitimate questions, and both have clear, official answers. This article covers both.

The bald eagle: America's national bird, now official by law

The bald eagle has been America's most recognized avian symbol for centuries, appearing on the Great Seal of the United States since 1782. But it only became the legally designated "national bird" in December 2024, when Congress passed S.4610 (118th Congress), which became Public Law 118-206. That act amended Title 36 of the U.S. Code (36 U.S.C. § 306) to formally codify what had long been assumed. So if someone argues the bald eagle isn't "officially" the national bird, that argument expired on December 23, 2024.

The bald eagle was also protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and it famously recovered from near-extinction after the banning of DDT in 1972. It was removed from the Endangered Species List in 2007. The bird you see soaring over rivers and reservoirs today is a genuine conservation success story, not just a symbol.

Recognizing a bald eagle in the field

Adult bald eagles are hard to misidentify once you know what to look for. They have a white head and tail, a dark brown body, and a bright yellow hooked bill. Wingspan runs from about 6 to 7.5 feet, making them one of the largest birds of prey in North America. Juveniles are mostly dark brown with mottled white patches and don't develop the white head and tail until around age 4 or 5, which is where most confusion with other raptors happens.

The most common lookalike is the golden eagle, which is also large and dark but has a golden-brown nape, no white tail, and tends to hunt in open, drier terrain rather than near water. Ospreys are sometimes mistaken for bald eagles from a distance, but ospreys are smaller, have a white underside, and show a distinctive dark eye stripe. Turkey vultures are also large soaring birds but hold their wings in a pronounced V shape (called a dihedral) and have small, featherless red heads.

How official state birds actually work

Each state designates its own official state bird through a legislative act or resolution passed by the state legislature and signed into law by the governor. There's no federal oversight of this process, no standardized criteria, and no requirement that states pick a bird native to the state (though most do). Some states chose their birds as early as the 1920s, while others took until the 1970s and beyond. The designations reflect local pride, ecological significance, cultural symbolism, or sometimes just the result of a schoolchildren's vote.

"Official" in this context means legally designated by the state, not just popularly associated with it. The state bird appears in state statutes, and in many states it's a protected species as a result of that designation. It's a genuine legal symbol, the same category as the state flower, state tree, or state flag.

How to find the official state bird for any state

The quickest path is to search directly for the state you're interested in. Each state has its own page on this site with the official bird, why it was chosen, identification details, and historical context. That includes why the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher became Oklahoma’s state bird and what makes it a good fit why it was chosen. If you're looking for a specific state, the pattern is simple: search "state bird of [state name]" and you'll get a direct answer. Below is a quick reference for all 50 states.

States that share the same bird

One of the more interesting patterns across state birds is how often different states landed on the same species. Seven states share the Northern Cardinal, six share the Western Meadowlark, five share the Northern Mockingbird, and three share the American Robin. Here's how that breaks down:

The Northern Cardinal's dominance in the eastern and midwestern states reflects both its year-round visibility and its cultural popularity. The Western Meadowlark sweeping six Great Plains and western states tells a similar story: it's a highly visible, melodic bird that was deeply familiar to settlers and residents of those regions when the designations were made. Meanwhile, states like Oklahoma stand out for choosing a genuinely distinctive and regionally specific bird. Oklahoma's state bird is the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher what is oklahoma's state bird. The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is found in a relatively narrow range and is strongly associated with Oklahoma's identity, which is exactly the kind of specificity that makes state bird comparisons interesting.

Oklahoma is also notable because the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher appears on the Oklahoma state quarter. Similarly, the Mountain Bluebird appears on the Idaho quarter. If you're curious about the bird on U. The bird on the dollar bill is the bald eagle, which is why it also appears on many other U.S. coins bald eagle appears on the dollar bill. S. currency more broadly, the bald eagle appears on the dollar bill and numerous coins, which connects directly back to its role as the national symbol.

Where to go from here

If you came here to settle a quick trivia question, you now have the answer: the national bird of the United States is the bald eagle, officially designated by federal law in December 2024. If you were actually looking for a specific state bird, the table above gives you a fast lookup, and each state has its own dedicated page on this site with full details.

For deeper exploration, the most rewarding directions are usually the "why" questions rather than just the "what." Why did Oklahoma pick the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher instead of a more widespread species? Why do seven states share the Cardinal? Why did some states choose domestic breeds like the Rhode Island Red or Delaware Blue Hen instead of wild birds? Those stories get into regional history, legislative politics, and genuine ecological reasoning that makes state birds far more interesting than a simple list.

You can also look at the patterns comparatively: which states chose birds that are now threatened, which designations came from schoolchildren's votes, and how designations have (or haven't) changed over the decades. The American state bird system is a surprisingly rich window into how different regions understand their own identity, landscape, and natural history.