Mississippi State Bird: Northern Mockingbird

Official Mississippi references put the campaign at the center of the story. Secretary of State publications say the mockingbird was selected as the state bird by the Women's Federated Clubs and by the Legislature in 1944.

Mississippi did not simply attach a label to a common bird. An organized statewide civic network backed the choice and pressed the case to the Legislature — which is why the 1944 designation has a specific sponsor, not just a vague legislative moment.

By the time Mississippi acted in 1944, the Northern Mockingbird was already the state bird of Florida and Texas (1927), Arkansas (1929), and Tennessee (1933). Mississippi Encyclopedia describes Mississippi as the last state to adopt the species.

That timing gives the choice context. Mississippi was joining a bird-symbol pattern already established across the South, one that civic groups and lawmakers understood without much explanation. The Women's Federated Clubs campaign gave that regional choice a specific Mississippi sponsor and moved it into law.