After a proposal re-emerged to replace the mockingbird as Florida’s state bird, Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, wants wildlife officials to ask young people what they think.
Polsky on Monday filed a bill (SB 212) that would direct the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to survey participants in Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network summer camps in 2025 and 2026 about whether another state bird should be selected.
READ MORE: Florida lawmakers could consider another push to make the flamingo the state bird
The mockingbird has been the state’s bird since 1927. Under Polsky’s bill, the young people would be surveyed about the mockingbird, the American osprey, the Florida scrub jay, the American flamingo and the American white ibis.
The survey results would be turned over to the House and Senate. Rep. Jim Mooney, R-Islamorada, this month filed a proposal (HB 81) that would lead to the flamingo being designated as the state bird and the Florida scrub jay being designated as the official state songbird.
Bills backing the flamingo and the scrub jay have been proposed in recent years but have not passed. The Polsky and Mooney bills are filed for the legislative session that will start March 4.
In May, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Chairman Rodney Barreto called on the wildlife agency to renew efforts to designate a state bird that is unique to Florida.
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