Oregon state symbols
Oregon’s state bird is the western meadowlark (1927), its flower the Oregon grape (1899), its tree the Douglas fir (1939), and its motto “Alis volat propriis”, “She flies with her own wings” (1987).
How to read it
Most of Oregon’s symbols were adopted by resolution, not by statute; chapter 186 of the Oregon Revised Statutes lists them. The Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) was declared the official flower by Senate Concurrent Resolution 4 in 1899, and the Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) the official tree by House Concurrent Resolution 5 in 1939. The Blue Book adds that the Douglas fir is named for David Douglas, a 19th-century Scottish botanist. The motto is the exception, written into ORS 186.040: “Alis Volat Propriis”, “translated from Latin as ‘She Flies With Her Own Wings’”. The American beaver is the state animal (1969), and Oregon is known as the Beaver State.
Also searched as: official symbols of oregon, oregon state bird, oregon state flower, oregon state motto, oregon state symbols, oregon state tree.
A bird chosen by schoolchildren
The Oregon Blue Book says the western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) was chosen in a 1927 election among schoolchildren, sponsored by the Oregon Audubon Society, and proclaimed by Governor Patterson in July 1927. The Legislature acted on the bird only in 2017, when Senate Concurrent Resolution 18 made it the official State Songbird.
The motto before 1987
The Blue Book says the 1987 Legislature adopted “She Flies With Her Own Wings” to replace “The Union”, the motto adopted in 1957.
States with the same bird
The western meadowlark is also the state bird of Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming.
Read next
- Next in US state symbolsPennsylvania state symbolsPennsylvania’s state bird is the ruffed grouse (1931), its flower the mountain laurel (1933), its tree the hemlock (1931), and its motto “Virtue, Liberty, and Independence”.
- The same shape in Value stream mapping symbolsPush arrowMaterial pushed on to the next process whether or not that process needs it yet. The push arrow is a broad arrow filled with diagonal stripes.
More US state symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
Sources
- Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 186 (State Emblems; State Boundary), ORS 186.040 and Official Designations note to ORS ch. 186, Oregon State Legislature, ORS 186.040 State motto; Official Designations list
- Oregon Blue Book: Oregon Almanac, Abbreviation to Crustacean, Oregon Blue Book, Oregon Almanac (A–C), Oregon Secretary of State, Animal, State; Birds (Western Meadowlark)
- Oregon Blue Book: Oregon Almanac, Dance to Hops Production, Oregon Blue Book, Oregon Almanac (D–H), Oregon Secretary of State, Flower, State
- Oregon Blue Book: Oregon Almanac, Hydropower Projects to State Motto, Oregon Blue Book, Oregon Almanac (H–M), Oregon Secretary of State, Motto, State
- Oregon Blue Book: Oregon Almanac, Soil to Wine Industry Production, Oregon Blue Book, Oregon Almanac (S–W), Oregon Secretary of State, Song, State; Tree, State
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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