Wisconsin State Bird
Robin
(Turdus migratorius)
Adopted on June 4, 1949.
In 1926 and 1927, Mrs. Walter Bowman, Conservation Chairman of the Wisconsin Federated Women's Clubs, conducted a statewide survey of the state's school children to determine their preference for a state bird. The robin easily proved the most popular bird among the children, garnering twice as many votes as any other bird.
The robin wasn't adopted as the official state bird until many years later however. The robin (Turdus migratorius) became the official state bird of Wisconsin on June 4, 1949.
The American robin, familiar in the summertime throughout North America, clad in a reddish brown or tawny breast and a loud cheery song, evident in the fact that it is also the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Wisconsin State Bird: Robin
The American robin (Turdus migratorius) is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the Old World flycatcher family.
Familiar in the summertime throughout North America, the American Robin is seen from Alaska to Virginia. Most people do not know that many Robins spend the entire winter in New England. They roost among the evergreens in the swamps where they feed on winter berries.
Identification of the Robin
- Length: 8.5 inches
- Black to dark gray head
- Broken eye ring
- Dull red breast and belly
- White undertail coverts
- Gray upperparts
- Streaked throat
- Thin yellow bill
- Sexes similar-female somewhat paler
- Winter plumage is somewhat paler than Summer plumage
- Juveniles have spotted, whiter breasts
- Common in residential areas where it often forages on lawns
- Often sings very early in morning
- Often found in large flocks outside of breeding season
The Wisconsin Statutes
The law designating the robin as the official Wisconsin state bird is Section 1.10(3)(f) of the Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 1 (SOVEREIGNTY AND JURISDICTION OF THE STATE) Section 1.10 (State song, state ballad, state waltz, state dance, and state symbols)
CHAPTER 1. SOVEREIGNTY AND JURISDICTION OF THE STATE.
SECTION 1.10 State song, state ballad, state waltz, state dance, and state symbols.
Section: 1.10(3)(f)
(f) The robin (turdus migratorius) is the state bird.
Taxonomic Hierarchy: American Robin
Kingdom: Animalia - animals
Phylum: Chordata - chordates
Subphylum: Vertebrata - vertebrates
Class: Aves - birds
Order: Passeriformes - perching birds
Family: Muscicapidae - old world flycatchers
Genus: Turdus Linnaeus, 1758 - robins
Species: Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 - american robin, Mirlo primavera
