Perhaps no Michigan symbol received as much attention as its state bird. The first state bird was adopted by Kentucky in 1926, and many other states quickly followed. In 1929, the State Audubon Society of Michigan was celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. So it was only natural that members would want to campaign for a state bird.
The Audubon Society conducted a campaign from October 1928 to may 1929, assisted by the press, libraries, schools, and many other groups. Finally, 184,209 votes were cast, and the robin emerged as the winner, with 45,541 votes. The black-capped chickadee was runner-up, with 37,155 votes, followed by the eastern bluebird, with 17,024. Following, in order of popularity, were the goldfinch, cardinal, bobwhite, Baltimore oriole, house wren, meadowlark, redwing blackbird, song sparrow, downy woodpecker, mourning dove, whippoorwill, bobolink, kingbird, cedar waxwing, brown thrasher, rose-breasted grosbeak, purple martin, and catbird.
The robin was officially adopted in 1931. There seems to have been little dissent in the following years. Apparently, there has been some interest in replacing the robin with the chickadee, which remains in Michigan in winter. Another bird that has challenged Michigan’s robin is the Kirtland’s warbler, which was adopted as the Bicentennial Bird in 1976.
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