AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) The chirping over the Maine state bird is over for now.
The Pine Tree State’s bird will remain the chickadee despite a push for specificity from a gaggle of schoolchildren. Fourth-grade students at Margaret Chase Smith School in Skowhegan brought forth a bill that would have clearly identified which species of chickadee in the state bird.
A legislative committee killed the bird bill with a unanimous vote on Wednesday. The Portland Press Herald reports Nick Lund of Maine Audubon testified in favor of the bill, but it was not enough to sway the committee.
A 92-year-old statute lists the generic “chickadee” as Maine’s state bird. The black-capped chickadee is pictured on the state’s licenses plates, but the boreal chickadee also lives in some parts of the state.
