U.S. State Flags with Animals: Bears, Birds, Bison, and More

Oregon holds a unique distinction in American vexillology: it is the only US state with a completely different design on each side of its flag. The obverse side (front) — the side displayed on a standard flag pole — features the state seal on a navy blue background, with a bald eagle at the top of the shield. Turn the flag over, and the eagle is gone. The reverse side shows only a golden beaver on the same navy field.

The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) has been Oregon's official state animal since 1969, but its appearance on the flag predates that designation by 44 years — the beaver was added to the reverse side when the Oregon state flag was adopted in 1925, so that the flag would read clearly from both sides on parade floats and public buildings. Because both faces must be separately printed, Oregon's flag costs more to manufacture than a single-sided design.

California's grizzly and Wyoming's bison are impossible to miss. The animals on the next tier are different: a moose reclining inside a coat of arms, an elk head rising above a shield, a badger perched at the apex of heraldic design. You need to know where to look — but they were placed there intentionally.

Delaware's ox and Idaho's elk are seal details rather than central flag designs. Both are hard to see at distance, but each is part of the official coat of arms shown on the flag.

Missouri's flag is a horizontal tricolor of red, white, and blue. The state seal at the center contains three grizzly bears: two stand upright as heraldic shield-holders on either side of the central shield, and a third grizzly appears within the inner shield.

The bears were added to the Missouri state seal in 1822 — one year after statehood — to represent the strength of Missouri's frontier citizens. When the flag was formally adopted in 1913, the seal came with it. From normal flag-viewing distance, the grizzlies disappear into the heraldic detail.

Nine US state flags feature the bald eagle — Haliaeetus leucocephalus — embedded in state seals and coats of arms: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Oregon (obverse only), Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. The eagle's presence on these flags traces directly to the Great Seal of the United States (1782), which established the bald eagle as the national emblem.

Louisiana is the only current state flag featuring a bird other than the bald eagle: the brown pelican in the heraldic pose of 'pelican in her piety.' Louisiana inherited this symbol from French colonial heraldry — the pelican appears on Louisiana's territorial seal of 1804, a full eight years before statehood. See US state flags with birds for the ten bird flags and US state flags with eagles for the nine eagle states.