In 1928, the Fifth District of the State Federation of Women’s Clubs began a state bird campaign. It was sponsored by the Atlanta Bird Club and similar groups.
The brown thrasher easily beat out the red-headed woodpecker and purple martin. On April 6, 1935, the Governor proclaimed the brown thrasher Georgia’s state bird. But his proclamation was’t enough to make it official.
Bobwhite?
So thirty-five years later, the bobwhite was proposed for adoption. The bobwhite was supported by the author of the comic strip Mark Trail.
Thrasher fans rallied behind their favorite. The Garden Clubs of Georgia requested that the brown thrasher be designated the official state bird.
Feathered Compromise
The legislature came up with a compromise. On March 20, 1970, the brown thrasher was adopted as Georgia’s state bird, the bobwhite the official game bird. Below is a copy of the resolution.
Whereas, the Attorney General of Georgia has ruled in an official opinion that Georgia does not have an official State Bird; and
Whereas, hitherto, the General Assembly of Georgia has made no such selection; and
Whereas, since countless Georgians have always considered the Brown Thrasher as the official Georgia State Bird it is only fitting and proper that the Brown Thrasher be given the recognition it is due; and
Whereas, the familiar “bob-bob-white” whistle of the Bobwhite Quail has charmed Georgians, and accompanied them in their work and play since the State was merely a territory occupied by British colonists in 1733; and
Whereas, the traditional rich Georgia pastoral setting is incomplete without a Bobwhite Quail flitting from bush to bush or singing its cheerful melody; and
Whereas, thousands of Georgia sportsmen annually trek to the fields to bag their limit of the Bobwhite Quail; this marvelous bird can withstand a loss of two-thirds of its population with no reduction in the spring breeding population, thus providing the Georgia huntsmen with continued exciting sport; and
Whereas, Georgia has long been hailed as the “Quail Capitol of the World,” and it seems to be only fitting and proper that the Bobwhite Quail (of the genus colinis) be given the recognition it is due.
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the General Assembly of Georgia at the suggestion and request of the Garden Clubs of Georgia that the Brown Thrasher is hereby designated as the official Georgia State Bird.
Be it further resolved that the Bobwhite Quail is hereby designated as the official Georgia State Game Bird.
The brown thrasher is a member of the family Mimidae. Another mimic is the mockingbird, the most popular state bird in the South.
The bobwhite is actually a more popular symbol than the brown thrasher, having represented several states.
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