OCR Text |
Show a fete. - n : ""xx 3 ' 1 ;VT V N S'L'r Painted Buntinq; - ft xrr 71 sz -; x fe !Vl x -.xv; . ; ; . v " I ". . Jaa:StfSCh.ckadee f fx V.sM t.v vv vHt , U '- ; p,,!.;-j-Jfei&---f :v 4 ? s'l : Cardinal Rose-Breasted Grosbeak fim---- vf; " & 4 I ; By ELMO SCOTT WATSON TTCTy -jrlTHIN the last year two more V; states have joiued the ranks of vk fSf those which have an "ollicial ff state bird." By formal action of '' 1, ' the legislature the Carolina chick- ' 7XcSsv? lee was adopted in North Caro-L Caro-L fr?K!fyv'is Una, and in Indiana that honor " . 'X :'-'7' fell to the eastern cardinal, al- - though the rose-breasted gros-' gros-' fcgySSSl beak was strongly urged for it. ; : Now only four states Connecti- r cut, Iowa, New Jersey and Tennessee are with- out such feathered representatives, but an effort ' Is under way to swing them into line. ; The ruby-crowned kinglet has been suggested as an appropriate avian emblem for Connecticut; it has been suggested that the Hawkeye state would be an even more appropriate nickname : for Iowa If it adopted the sparrow hawk for Its official state bird; the bobolink ("Robert of - Lincoln") is a suggestion that Is meeting with favor for New Jersey ; and Tennessee is being : urged to choose the painted bunting or nonpareil. The birds thus honored by the states have been selected for a variety of reasons because of traditional associations, for their beauty, their pleasing songs or their economic value. In some cases the campaign to have a state bird named was conducted by the state Audubon society but in most instances the selection was the direct result of the efforts of the State Federation of Women's clubs. An outstanding leader in this movement has been Mrs. Katherine B. Tippetts, chairman of the division of conservation of the General Federation Fed-eration of Womens' clubs. Some time ago the American Nature association associa-tion published a booklet called "Birds of the States How, When and- Why They Were Chosen as Official Emblems" and in this booklet, Mrs. Tippetts reviews the campaigns which brought aljout the selections of the various official state birds as follows: "In 1927, at the request of the Ladies Memorial association, the legislature of Alabama adopted the Flicker, or 'yellow hammer, as the official state bird. The members of this organization urged the choice because the Alabama soldiers in the Confederate army were known as 'Yellow Hammers,' and the yellow lining of the bird's wings and tall recall the uniform colors of the Alabama cavalry. "In Arizona Mrs. D. I. Craig, chairman of conservation con-servation for the state, launched a campaign for a state bird and ballots were cast for various candidates. But when these were counted the cactus wren was out in front in a run-away contest. "In Arkansas the State Federation of Women's clubs sponsored the mockingbird for 6fficiar honors. A campaign was conducted under the direction of Mrs. W. A. Utley, this bird being the overwhelming choice. "The California Audubon society and kindred groups sponsored the campaign for a state bird for the Golden state. The final balloting revealed the valley quail In the lead, and on June 12, 1031, the governor made the choice official. "In Colorado the selection of the lark bunting came at the climax of a campaign which was conducted by ardent partisans. "In Delaware the mockingbird made an unsuccessful un-successful run for state honors against the cardinal, which was selected by a large majority of thosie voting in the campaign organized by Mrs. v.. V. Mldns.'- - " "Sponsored by the Audubon Society of St. Petersburg, the vote for B'lorida's state bird was active and interesting although overwhelmingly lur the mockingbird. "Running safely ahead of the red-headed woodpecker wood-pecker and the purple martin, the brown thrasher was chosen by the school children of Georgia In 1928. The campaign was inaugurated by the Fifth District of the State Federation of Women's Wom-en's clubs and was sponsored by the Atlanta Bird club and kindred groups. 1 "Interest In the campaign In Idaho ran high. js the state federation conservation chairman, ".Irs. E. H. Barton presented the western tanager !s the choice of the women's clubs of the state. ,'ut the children overruled her and in the balloting ,e mountain bluebird, meadowlark and robin V Ve favorites. The former led the field and l s generally endorsed, so Mrs. Barton fostered tial approval by the legislature and this be- cta law in 1931. v k' v jc "'; House Wren " - Louisiana Pelican "In Illinois the state bird campaign developed the meadowlark, song sparrow, wren and the bobwhite as favorites, together with the catbird. Mrs. J. D. McKinney of the state federation sponsored a bill for the catbird, which, for some reason, emerged as a bill for the cardinal, which was legally approved on June 4, 1929. "Back In 1924, under the leadership of Miss Madeleine Aaron, secretary of the Audubon Society of Kansas, a campaign was launched for selection of a state bird. Widespread publicity was given and a large vote was gotten out, giving the western meadowlark a plurality of some 121,000 votes over the other candidates. "James Lane Allen made the cardinal the favored bird of Kentucky In his famous book of that name, and It was both natural and Inevitable In-evitable that It be established as the official state bird. The 1926 session of the legislature passed such a resolution, which was approved February 17. 1926. "The pelican was established as Louisiana's state bird through the medium of the state seal, which was formally designated in 1902 by the then Governor Heard. "Maine's legislators officially approved the chickadee as the state bird in 1927 after a campaign cam-paign conducted by the State Federation of Women's Wom-en's clubs with the leadership of Mrs. Carl E. Kelley. Clubs, schools and the state grange Joined in the balloting. "It may be said that Maryland was presented with a state bird nearly a century and a half before It became a state. It Is related that George Calvert selected as the colors for his coat of arms the orange and black of a beautiful bird that he found common among the trees. A century later Catesby, In the account of his famous travels In Virginia and Carolina, called this the Baltimore bird, and from his description descrip-tion the great naturalist Linnaeus formally described de-scribed the bird In 1758. Ever since that time the Baltimore oriole has been Maryland's state bird. "From October, 1928, to May, 1929, the State Audubon Society of Michigan conducted a systematic sys-tematic campaign with the co-operation of the press, libraries, schools and many groups. A total of 184,209 votes were cast, the robin leading lead-ing with a vote of 45,541. The choice was legalized legal-ized on April 8, 1931. "Minnesota wad faced with an embarrassment of excellent candidates In its state bird vote organized by Mrs. Willard Bayllss, then president of the State Federation of Women's clubs. After much publicity and a substantial vote for the goldfinch, it was selected. "Debates Id the schools, special club programs and publicity attended Mississippi's state bird campaign conducted by Mrs. G. H. Reever, chairman, chair-man, which was made the outstanding work of the conservation division of the state federation in 1929. The mockingbird proved to be the popular choice. "Choice of the western meadowlark as the state bird of Montana came as the result of a rousing state campaign led by Mrs. I. D. Hadzor, then conservation chairman of the state federation. federa-tion. "Twenty-seven candidates contested in Nebraska Ne-braska in the campaign submitted to the schools by Mrs. Elizabeth Hoefer, state chairman of conservation, con-servation, after the state federation had approved ap-proved such a drive. The Meadowlark was suc-cussful suc-cussful and was officially recognized on March 22, 1929. "Nevada citizens and school children had little difficulty in arriving at a choice of a state bird, the mountain bluebird leading the field In an All drawings (except Louisiana Pelican) by H. Bruce Horsfall, Courtesy Nature Magazine. $ --v extended vote during 1930 and 1931. This bird was flie nominee of the club women of the state. "The New Hampshire Federation of Women's clubs, through Mrs. Lucy F. Richardson, then chairman of conservation, sponsored a vote in 1927 that returned the purple finch as victor in the state bird ballot. "Dividing the state Into districts, New Mexico Mex-ico was thoroughly canvassed for its opinion on a state bird and the road-runner led all the rest. In fact the vote for this typical bird was just about unanimous. Mrs. Tom Charles, president, presi-dent, reported the' choice. "An old campaign for state bird of New York having selected the robin and let the matter drop there, a new campaign was launched in 1927-28 under Mrs. Charles Cyrus Marshall. Although the robin was Included as a nominee, he ran well behind the bluebird, which now is regarded as the state bird. "Through the circulation of leaflets describing describ-ing the three most useful birds not then selected for state bird honors elsewhere, Mrs. I. T. Frary, chairman of wild life for the state federation of Ohio conducted an effective campaign In 1928.' Ballots were Included and the vote gave the house wren a lead of 7,409 votes over its nearest rival. "More than 69,000 votes were cast In Oklahoma's Okla-homa's campaign for a state bird under the leadership of Mrs. W. A. Campbell and Mrs. Ellen Howard Miller, and the bob-white triumphed tri-umphed by a wide margin. "In 1926 the Oregon Audubon society asked for a vote for state bird and got more than 45,000 votes for the western meadowlark out of 85,000 cast. "The ruffed grouse was legalized as the state bird of Pennsylvania by the legislature of 1931 after a long campaign and deliberate voting. Mrs. Harry J. Shoemaker, chairman of birds and flowers, and the officers of the State Federation of Women's clubs as a whole urged the selection. "Schools, clubs, granges, scout troops and other organizations joined in voting for the bob-white bob-white as Rhode Island's state bird. "The campaign in South Carolina was under the leadership of Miss Claudia Phelps and In 1930 the Carolina wren won honors over the Carolina dove. "Various organizations joined with the State Federation of Women's clubs in Texas in selecting select-ing a state bird. More than 100,000 children added their ballots and the victor was the western west-ern mockingbird. "Utah's state bird Is the sea gull In grateful remembrance of the gulls that delivered the crops of the farmers from the ptst of the insects In 184S, and a monument to the birds stands In the park of the Mormon Tabernacle. "In Vermont the State Federation of Women's clubs conducted a campaign in 1927, the hermit thrush emerging victorious. In Virginia the late Miss Katherine Stuart drew together bird lovers and conservationists in an educational campaign that made the robin state bird by popular vote. The robin ran way ahead In .the vote taken In Wisconsin under the leadership of Mrs. Walter Bowman, who conducted the campaign as conservation chairman In 1926. Mrs. Edward Ewel of Wyoming was one of the first to respond to the call for a state bird campaign, and by 1920 the western meadowlark was established as the favorite." () by Western Newspaper Unton |