Oregon’s State Bird

Although the meadowlark is the overwhelming favorite in the Great Plains, the first state to adopt it was far-off Oregon. Perhaps Oregon Trail veterans had grown fond of the bird that serenaded them during their trek across the plains.

The Oregon Audubon Society asked for a vote for a state bird in 1926. Of 85,000 votes cast, 45,000 went for the meadowlark. The mountain bluebird placed second, with 20,000 votes, while the varied thrush placed third. Other contestants included the white-crowned sparrow, song sparrow, and Oregon junco.

The Governor proclaimed the choice on July 18, 1927, adding that the next legislature would ratify his proclamation. But did it?

Fowl Play?

Michale G. McQuade, Reference Archivist with the Office of the Secretary of State, failed to find a copy of any resolutions in the 1927 and 1929 Oregon Laws. McQuade noted, “Apparently . . . the legislature did not feel a legal follow-up was necessary.”

So, is the meadowlark really Oregon’s official state bird? Some people go further, suggesting the election may not have even been fair. Harry Nehls, author of Familiar Birds of the Northwest, wrote “When the state gave the matter to the Audubon Society, the chair of the education committee, which sent out speakers to schools, took it on. His name was ‘Papa’ Riker. ‘Papa’ because the kids liked him and were always glad to see him.” Riker conducted an educational trip through the schools, talking about the voting list, “and then he’d say, ‘And I like the meadowlark.’”

A True Oregonian

On the other hand, Gabrielson and Jewett, authors of Birds of Oregon, thought the meadowlark the most widely distributed bird in Oregon in 1940. School children also chose the meadowlark as their favorite in Washington State. However, they were overruled by adults, who adopted the goldfinch instead.

In 1891 Frances Fuller Victor remarked on the scarcity of songbirds in the Pacific Northwest, noting that “the meadow-lark is almost the only bird which cheers the traveler on his way over the wide plains of East Oregon and Washington.”

Ralph Hoffmann summed up the popular appeal of the western meadowlark in Birds of the Pacific States: “There are about a dozen birds whose removal from the landscape would be noticed even by the average person, and one of the first to be missed would be the Meadowlark. There is so much unforested country along the coast, so many rolling brown hills or cultivated fields that would be suddenly silent if the rich, throaty chuckle of the Meadowlark were no longer heard. Even above the noise of the motor car it explodes on one’s ear from the long uplifted bill of the bird on a post by the roadside.”

The Snowbird

Still, some Oregon ornithologists have suggested that the Oregon junco (Junco hyemalis oreganus) might make a better state bird. It boasts name recognition and has been adopted by no other state.

Officially, this subspecies of the dark-eyed junco was discovered at Fort Vancouver, Washington. However, some ornithologists suspect it was first encountered by pioneer naturalist John K. Townsend at Sauvie Island, Oregon in 1834. The Oregon junco is familiar to many Oregonians, who often call it the “snowbird.”

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