What is the State Bird of Tennessee? (And Why?)

Tennessee is the 36th largest state in the United States by area and the 16th most populous. Tennessee has a variety of terrain and landscapes that attract an abundance of wildlife. Tennessee’s state beast is the raccoon, but what is the state bird?

Tennessee has chosen the northern robin (Mimus Polyglottos) as its state bird. Tennessee made it the state bird on April 19, 1933. In the United States, this long-legged, medium-sized bird with a long tail is very popular. The bird tends to settle in the southern states during the winter.

Tennessee’s state bird, the northern robin.

Why is the northern robin the state bird of Tennessee?

The Tennessee government works with the Tennessee Ornithological Society and its garden clubs to educate state residents about the state’s birds. Following this educational initiative, the state held a ballot for the public to choose. It voted for the northern mockingbird, and the legislature complied with their wishes, passing Tennessee Senate Joint Resolution 51, naming the bird its official bird.

When did the northern robin become Tennessee’s state bird?

The Legislature passed a resolution on April 19, 1933, naming the bird the official state bird of Tennessee. The popular vote had been taken a few days earlier, on April 11, 1933, according to the Nashville Standard.

close up northern robin

What does Tennessee’s state bird look like?

Female northern mockingbirds are smaller than their male counterparts. Both sexes resemble each other, with a gray chest and upper body, and a contrasting but complementary light gray or white in the belly area. These birds have a brown beak base and a black body.

Although long and with a wide wingspan, these birds weigh very little. They usually grow between 1.4 oz and 2.0 oz. Northern mockingbirds are 8 to 11 inches long from head to tail and have a wingspan of 12 to 15 inches.

Keeping mockingbirds as pets is illegal in the United States because captivity can significantly shorten their lifespan. In the wild, a mockingbird can live to be 80 years old, but in captivity they only live a quarter of that.

Title 16, United States Code, Sections 703 and 707a make it a crime to “at any time or in any way pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to capture, capture or kill, possess … any migratory bird … …or any part, nest or egg of any such bird. “

Maybe you can attribute it to their need for life in suburban Tennessee, but the state’s oldest surviving northern mockingbird is just 14 years and 10 months old.

Northern robin perched on a pole in winter

How are these birds behaving?

People misunderstood the mockingbird’s song. Often, when surveyed, people think the bird will only copy other people’s songs, but in reality, only ten percent of their repertoire is. While mockingbirds can imitate the songs of other birds, clever birds can also compose original music.

Since the average mockingbird plays more than 200 melodies, that means about 20 of its repertoire comes from other birds, and another 180, the bird wrote, so to speak. These studious birds also learn about other animals, including dogs, and human music, including instruments like the piano. The bird can also make city noises like sirens and gates.

Mockingjay decides whether to make a song or not based on how many times the sound is repeated. If, after the imitation, the sound echoed through the bird, they would write an original melody based on it.

Unlike many birds that sing in the early morning, mockingbirds keep company with night owls. Mockingbirds sing at night. In spring, the birds like to give concerts under the moonlight.

You won’t hear the same mix from Mockingbird either. The birds string together a different playlist each day. This medley may only contain some or all of its repertoire. If you can’t see a mockingbird in action, you might mistake its song for another bird. Since each bird creates its own song, every bird’s medley is different.

Robin Dating. They meet potential mates through singing. They dated several different birds until they met the right one, and the two birds began to cooperate. You can think of it like marriage, as this animal stays in a lifelong partnership and is monogamous. Together they build nests out of twigs, grass, twigs and leaves. Once they have built their homes, the birds reproduce. They raise their young to follow the same pattern.

Two northern robins on display

Do northern robins form communities?

Robins view their nests as their own and are very territorial. They protect their nests by swooping down to attack or at least drive away any predators. These birds view humans and their pets as predators. Mockingbirds will attack animals much larger than themselves, including dogs and cats. As long as you stay away from their nests, you’ll be fine. Just enjoy their songs from a distance. A mockingbird remembers the people and animals it sees. Don’t piss anyone off, or you’ll be an enemy for life.

While some of these birds live in Tennessee full-time, others frequent Mexico or Canada. In Tennessee, scientists observed banded birds more than 200 miles away in Nashville. That’s a lot of territory for an animal that doesn’t need to relocate like its Canadian counterparts.

Mockingbirds usually prefer beach or marine environments, but Tennessee mockingbirds are happy to live in inland environments. These birds are also extremely rare in the UK.

Look for them in open areas of urban or rural environments. You won’t find them in the forest. Northern mockingbirds like to live in the same habitat year-round, so they don’t fly farther south if the area stays warm.

Northern robin eating berries in a bush

What do northern robins eat?

Mockingbirds love fruits and seeds, but which varieties of these vary by location. Their diet also changes with the seasons. These birds also eat berries and small insects. Few people think of birds as carnivores, but mockingbirds feed on beetles, moths, and earthworms. Because of their berry love, in Tennessee they tend to settle in suburban areas where homeowners grow berry bushes.

For a complete guide to the robin diet, check out this article.