Texas Symbols, State Bird & State Flower

Adopted in 1927.

The mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is the state bird of Texas, adopted by the Legislature at the request of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs.

Ask any Texan, and you will no doubt learn that the mockingbird has the prettiest song of any bird native to North America. That's perhaps the chief reason the "mocker" was adopted as the state bird of Texas in 1927. Legend has it when Texas chose the mockingbird as its state bird, the resolution stated that the bird is "a fighter for the protection of his home, falling, if need be, in its defense, like any true Texan..." Its species name comes from the Greek mimus to mimic, and ployglottos for "many-tongued.”

The Mimus polyglottos, as the mockingbird is known scientifically, is about ten inches in length, including its relatively long tail. It has a light gray coat and a whitish underside. Its wings and tail are darker gray with white patches. The male and females look alike. Juvenile has spotted breast.

The common mockingbird is a superb songbird and mimic. Its own song has a pleasant lilt, varied and repetitive. Often it will sing all night long, especially in bright springtime moonlight. Unmated male mockingbirds sing more than mated ones. Both sexes sing in the fall to claim winter feeding territories. These areas are often different than their spring breeding territories.

The song of the mockingbird is, in fact, a medley of the calls of many other birds, each repeated several times. It will imitate other species' songs and calls, squeaky gates, pianos, sirens, barking dogs, etc. Each imitation is repeated two or three times, then another song is started, all in rapid succession. In the above sample audio file, the songs of four distinct species were recorded in the span of about seven seconds. It is common for an individual bird to have as many as 25-30 songs in its repertory.

The mockingbird is also known as a fierce protector of its nest and environment. It is sometimes seen swooping down on a dog, cat or predator that may be venturing too close to the bird's protected territory.

Abundance: Common urban bird

Length: 10 inches

Weight: 1Ύ ounces

Wing Span: 14 inches

General description: Diurnal, omnivore, altricial

Sexual maturity : 1 year

Mating season: Spring and early summer. Mockingbirds usually nest twice a year sometimes 3 or 4 times when conditions are favorable.

Breeding territory: 1 pair per 20 acres

Gestation: Eggs hatch in 12-13 days, the young fledge 11-13 days after that.

Number of young: Eggs are blue-green with brown markings. The 2-6, usually 3-5, eggs per nest are a pale blue-greenish with brown spots.

Nest Location: Ground-low nesting

Nest Type: Open-cup The nest, a joint male/female project, is a bulky, open cup of grass, twigs and rootlets carelessly arranged in a dense.

Migration Status: Permanent resident. This year-round resident is known for its fierce defense of the family nest.

Diet: Mockingbirds require open grassy areas for their feeding, thick, thorny shrubs for hiding the nest and high perches where the male can sing and defend his territory. Gardens are among its favorite dwelling places especially if winter berries are available. The Mockingbird's primary diet is insects (beetles, ants, grasshoppers and spiders),berries and seed.

Facts:

• Only unmated males sing at night.
• Mockingbirds often form long-term pair bonds.
• Mockingbirds vigorously defend their territory against many other species including dogs, cats and man!
• Female mockingbirds often build a new nest while the males finish feeding older fledglings and teaching them to fly.
• Scientists have found that female mockingbirds are attracted to males that can make the most different sounds.
• Mockingbirds are the state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas and one of the few birds found in every kind of habitat, from desert to forest to city.
• Mockingbirds are thought to raise and lower their wings in order to scare up a meal of insects, frighten snakes and impress their mates.

Adopted {Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) and any other variety of bluebonnet} on March 8, 1971.
Adopted {Bluebonnet (Lupinus subcarnosus)} on March 7, 1901.

Scientifically named Lupinus texensis, the bluebonnet is also called buffalo clover, wolf flower, and (by the Mexicans) el conejo. Bluebonnets have long been a favorite of Texans. Historian Jack Maguire refers to Texas' state flower as "an institution, almost as well known to outsiders as cowboy boots and the Stetson hat." On March 7, 1901, the Texas House of Representatives adopted the bluebonnet, originally Lupinus subcarnosus, as the official state flower. Imagine if one of the other ideas - the open cotton boll ("the white flower of commerce") or the flowering prickly pear, for instance - had won the nomination. The Society of Colonial Dames of Texas vigorously lobbied for the obvious choice. This only began the long list of official bluebonnet designations.

Since this flower has look-alike "cousins," the state legislature, in 1971, named all lupine species as the official state flower. On March 8, 1971, Texas Legislators decided that the official Texas flower should not exclude the showier and more prolific Lupinus texensis. Just to make sure, the new state flower resolution included "any other variety of bluebonnet not heretofore recorded." This means that the six species of bluebonnets native to Texas are considered the state flower. It seems fitting that Texas also has six flags in its history.

One of the most beloved wildflower advocates made her voice heard when her husband, Lyndon B. Johnson, became president in 1963. Lady Bird Johnson, just two years later, along with Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, a group of philanthropists, designers, publishers, other officials and civic leaders formed the Committee for a More Beautiful Capital. This was Lady Bird Johnson's first contribution to the "Keep America Beautiful" campaign. On her 70th birthday, December 1982, Lady Bird celebrated by donating 60 acres of land on the Colorado River near Austin and the funding needed to found the National Wildflower Research Center. Now called the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, she stated the goal of the center is "to educate people about the environmental necessity, economic values and natural beauty of native plants."

In west Texas, the tall Big Bend bluebonnet grows up to three feet high . The shorter, more common Texas Bluebonnet, grows east of a line going from northeast to southwest Texas. It reaches a height of 15 to 24 inches, and blooms from early March to early May. Named for its color and, it is said, the resemblance of its petal to a woman's sunbonnet, the bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas. It blooms in the early spring and can be readily found in fields and along the roadsides throughout central and south Texas. After it rains, look for a drop of water in each bonnet or bowl-like petal. As the Texas bluebonnet flower ages, one of the top petals turns purple-red.

Blooms March through May.

This flower is part of the Legume family.