The Cardinal is the state bird of Illinois. And Indiana. And Kentucky.
It’s also the state bird of North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.
A lot of states share the same state bird.
And you’d think that the state bird of California would be the condor, or the flamingo as Florida’s state bird.
Nope.
All in all, the state birds are lame. No hawks or eagles. Nothing all that impressive, like a fierce owl or vulture.
Hawaii has a kind of duck, the nene.
It’s an ugly thing, but a good Scrabble word if you have Ns and Es.