Miami Backs the American Flamingo for Florida State Bird, Joining Miami-Dade's Push
Miami's city commissioners voted unanimously on October 22 to back making the American flamingo Florida's state bird - three months after Miami-Dade County made the flamingo its own official bird - in a push that stalled in Tallahassee this year and returns when the Legislature reconvenes in March 2027.
The American flamingo has picked up another local endorsement. The City of Miami's commissioners voted unanimously at their October 22 meeting to back renewed efforts to make the flamingo Florida's official state bird, Miami Today reported this week, joining a push that Miami-Dade County started over the summer. The city's resolution, sponsored by Commissioner Ralph Rosado, calls for renewed consideration and enactment of the state legislation that would designate the flamingo.
The county moved first. On July 21, Miami-Dade commissioners adopted legislation sponsored by Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis designating the American flamingo as the official bird of Miami-Dade County, according to the same report. The bird is a fitting local emblem: flamingos are native to South Florida's coasts and wetlands, and the pink wader is woven into the region's identity from Hialeah Park's famous flock to the city's own iconography.
In Tallahassee, the idea has come close without landing. The proposal would replace the common mockingbird, which has been Florida's state bird for 99 years. Miami Today reports the flamingo measure won overwhelming support in the Florida House this year but stalled in the Senate, and neither the House nor Senate measure cleared the Legislature before the 2026 regular session ended on March 13.
That leaves the question for next year, with the city and county now formally on the same side of it. The Legislature is scheduled to reconvene in March 2027, and whether Florida trades its mockingbird for the flamingo will be up to state lawmakers then.
