Miami city commissioners voted unanimously on Oct. 22 to back a renewed push to make the American flamingo Florida’s official state bird. The measure would replace the common mockingbird, which has held the title for 99 years.
The effort follows Miami-Dade County’s July 21 decision to name the flamingo its official county bird. Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis sponsored that legislation, and Commissioner Ralph Rosado sponsored the city’s resolution.
A statewide bill passed the Florida House 112-1 on Feb. 11, and a companion Senate bill also proposed the change. Neither cleared the Legislature before the 2026 session ended March 13. The House bill died in the Senate Rules Committee, and the Senate bill died in an appropriations committee.
The flamingo was once wiped out in Florida by overhunting around the turn of the 20th century, according to the city’s resolution. Captive breeding and natural migration brought it back by 1925. Today the birds can be seen along much of the coast, especially in Hialeah, the Everglades, Biscayne Bay and the Keys.
The Legislature is scheduled to return in March 2027, so the decision on a new state bird falls to lawmakers.
