Oklahoma State Bird

Oklahoma designated the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in 1951 because of its unforgettable long tail and its obvious connection to the open-sky, fence-line country that defines much of Oklahoma. It was a practical symbolic choice: familiar to residents, visible across much of the state, and easy to connect with local schools, gardens, farms, parks, or conservation culture.

Few birds are as distinctive as a pale gray flycatcher with salmon flanks and an extremely long forked tail trailing behind it. In Oklahoma, it looks especially at home across open pasture, prairie, roadside wires, and scattered trees.

It hunts from wires and isolated perches, sallies after flying insects, and often sits in exposed open country where the tail itself becomes a field mark. It uses open grassland, ranch country, roadside wires, and scattered trees or shrubs well, which helps explain why the bird feels familiar well beyond protected areas.

In Oklahoma, start with Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, and Gloss Mountain State Park. Watch utility lines, fence posts, and lone trees over open country for a bird launching after insects and returning to the same perch. Late spring through summer is best because breeding birds stay conspicuous across open landscapes. These kinds of places match the bird's preferred mix of open grassland, ranch country, roadside wires, and scattered trees or shrubs.

The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is currently listed as LC. The species remains a hallmark of southern plains country, though severe weather and shifts in open breeding habitat can affect local success.