Every state has an official bird, and most people can name theirs. Far fewer people have noticed that in about half the country, the official bird is one you will never see from your kitchen window.
This is not a criticism of the birds. It is a fairly good illustration of the difference between a symbol and a neighbour.
States that chose a bird you will never see at a feeder
Pennsylvania — Ruffed Grouse. A drumming forest bird of young woodland. If one turns up in your yard it is genuinely worth telling someone about. What is actually on the feeder: American Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee. See the Pennsylvania mug.
Colorado — Lark Bunting. A shortgrass prairie bird, out where the grass is and the houses are not. In the yard you have House Finches, hummingbirds on a strict summer schedule, chickadees and robins. See the Colorado mug.
Minnesota — Common Loon. Magnificent, unmistakable, and entirely aquatic. Nobody has ever filled a feeder for a loon. On the feeder: Cardinal, Blue Jay, Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee. See the Minnesota mug.
Georgia — Brown Thrasher. A skulker. It works through leaf litter low in a hedge and you will hear it long before you see it. Meanwhile the Carolina Wren is shouting from your porch. See the Georgia mug.
California — California Quail. It walks. It will cross your yard in a line with a comma bobbing on its forehead, which is wonderful, but it is not coming to a seed feeder. California's real backyard story is that it is the one state where a hummingbird is a year-round bird. See the California mug.
Texas, Tennessee and Florida — Northern Mockingbird. Three states, one bird, and it does not eat seed. Your mockingbird is on the fence post or guarding a berry shrub, singing other birds' songs back at you in threes. The feeder belongs to cardinals, House Finches and doves. Texas · Tennessee · Florida.
States where it is in the yard, just not on the feeder
Michigan and Wisconsin — American Robin. Robins are absolutely in your yard; they are just working the lawn, not the feeder, because they want worms and berries rather than sunflower seed.
Worth knowing: the famous "first robin of spring" is usually a misunderstanding. Plenty of robins never leave — they spend the winter in wooded cover eating berries, out of sight. The moment everyone celebrates is often just the day they come back out onto the grass. Michigan · Wisconsin.
New York and Missouri — Eastern Bluebird. A yard bird, yes, but a nest box and mealworm bird rather than a seed bird. It nearly disappeared last century and came back largely because ordinary people started putting boxes on fence posts — one of the few conservation stories that happened in back gardens. New York · Missouri.
The states that got it right
Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina — Northern Cardinal. Seven states in total picked the cardinal, more than any other bird, and it is hard to argue. It does not migrate, it holds the same territory year after year, it comes to a platform feeder, and it is the reddest thing in an American backyard in February. Ohio · Illinois · Indiana · Virginia · North Carolina.
Washington — American Goldfinch. Chosen by a schoolchildren's vote, still called the Willow Goldfinch locally, and genuinely on the feeder. Good work, Washington. See the Washington mug.
Why we build our mugs this way
Every Backyard Birds mug shows the birds you can realistically watch from your own window, each one labeled by name — and deliberately leaves off the official bird when the official bird is not a feeder bird. A mug with a Common Loon on it is a fine mug. It is just not a mug about your morning.
Eighteen states so far. If yours is missing, tell us which to print next and we will write to you the day it goes up.
Ranges and habits vary, and every rule here has exceptions — odd birds turn up in odd places. For what is actually being reported near you this week, eBird and the free Merlin Bird ID app, both from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, are the places to look.