A wildlife advocate with a flamingo-wrapped vehicle is taking his campaign to Florida classrooms, hoping to succeed this year where two previous legislative attempts have failed. Ron Magill, goodwill ambassador and conservation liaison for the Zoo Miami Foundation, is leading the effort to make the American Flamingo Florida's official state bird, and he plans to keep campaigning until the legislative session convenes in March.
Magill said bills to make the flamingo Florida's state bird have been introduced for the last two years, according to WPBF. The most recent version passed the Florida House overwhelmingly last year before dying in the Senate, the station reports. Magill told WPBF that the flamingo and scrub jay are both included in the bill, with the flamingo designated as state bird and the scrub jay as state songbird — a pairing meant to end years of rivalry between the two birds' supporters.
That legislative history checks out beyond the seed report. In February 2026, the Florida House voted 112-1 to pass Representative Jim Mooney's bill establishing the flamingo as state bird and the scrub-jay as state songbird, a milestone confirmed by WLRN. Mooney modeled the compromise on a 2022 deal that made strawberry shortcake the official state dessert while preserving Key lime pie as the state pie, a tactic detailed by The Washington Post. If the Senate approves it and the governor signs, the change would take effect July 1, 2026.
Why the Mockingbird Has Held On Since 1927
The Northern Mockingbird has been Florida's state bird since 1927, when it was designated under Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 3 for its “matchless charm” and melodic song, according to the Florida Department of State. Advocates for change point out the mockingbird also serves as the state bird of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas, per WPBF, arguing Florida deserves a symbol it doesn't have to share. Opposition has been fierce in the past: former longtime NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer argued in a 2021 commentary that the mockingbird is an independent, prolific species that never needed government protection or tax dollars, as reported by WUSF.
Magill's pitch leans heavily on cost and science rather than sentiment. The flamingo state-bird proposal would cost nothing in tax dollars, per WPBF, and Florida can now legally list the flamingo as a native species. That's a reversal from decades of state policy: the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officially confirmed in 2021 that the American Flamingo is native to Florida, after a 2018 scientific study proved historical nesting in Florida Bay before 20th-century plume hunters wiped the birds out, according to CBS Miami. For decades the commission had treated flamingos as non-native, which barred them from state conservation management plans.
Storms and Survey Counts Point to a Real Comeback
American flamingos are now being seen in the Everglades and are staying rather than just passing through during migration, WPBF reports. Amy Ambrosia, Visshaael Patel — communications manager at the Palm Beach Zoo — and Magill all point to that pattern as evidence conservation is working. Category 3 Hurricane Idalia in August 2023 blew hundreds of wild flamingos from the Yucatán Peninsula and Cuba into Florida, and while storm winds scattered birds as far as Ohio and Wisconsin, dozens settled permanently in South Florida wetlands, according to the National Audubon Society.
A statewide census in February 2024 by Audubon Florida and the Florida Flamingo Working Group counted 101 wild flamingos across the state, including a flock of more than 50 in Florida Bay. Researchers later documented roughly 125 flamingos in Florida Bay in July 2025, one of the largest wild aggregations photographed in the state in decades, according to a video posted by Sergei Kelley of Chasing a Wild & Free Florida. Patel told WPBF that flamingos staying in Florida shows conservation efforts are succeeding.
Rally Plans, School Outreach and a Flamingo-Wrapped SUV
Magill plans to organize a rally and involve schools across Florida in the campaign, per WPBF, with outreach extending to radio, television and community events. He's also enlisted Miami writers Dave Barry and Carl Hiaasen, and he drives a vehicle wrapped in flamingo imagery to spread the message. The flamingo is already a favorite among Palm Beach Zoo visitors, and Magill argues the bird could attract tourism dollars and merchandising activity for Florida.
Advocates also note the flamingo is already deeply woven into Florida's economy: the Florida Lottery has used the flamingo as its symbol since founding in 1988, generating more than $46 billion for state education and funding Bright Futures scholarships for over 900,000 college students, according to the Florida College Access Network. Recognizing the bird as a native species, supporters argue, would also bolster support for Everglades conservation, which Magill has called the most expensive restoration project in world history — protecting the wetlands the American Flamingo was driven out of in the 1800s by hunters seeking its plumes and meat.
The Scrub-Jay's Role and What's Left Unresolved
The Florida Scrub-Jay, tapped as the proposed state songbird, is the only bird species found exclusively within the United States in Florida, and its population is estimated between just 7,700 and 9,300 birds due to severe habitat loss, as Hoodline previously reported. The species is federally listed under the Endangered Species Act and depends entirely on shrinking xeric oak scrub habitat, giving the compromise pairing ecological stakes beyond symbolism.
Whether this year's version fares better in the Senate remains an open question. Companion bills have previously stalled there without even getting a committee hearing, and it is not yet known whether Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez's bill designating the flamingo as state bird will clear that hurdle this session. Magill's campaign, running until lawmakers convene in March, is betting that rallies, classroom visits and a flamingo-wrapped SUV can build enough public pressure to finally get the bird past the finish line.
