The Western Meadowlark is the state bird of six states; Nebraska featured it on the 2011 base and Montana did so twice, but Kansas, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming have yet to use it. Missouri and New York share the Eastern bluebird. Other states depicted above are Alabama (Yellowhammer), Idaho (Mountain bluebird), Iowa (Eastern goldfinch), Louisiana (Brown pelican), Minnesota (Common loon), Maine (Chickadee), and South Carolina (Carolina wren). Some include the state flower – Idaho (Syringa), Iowa (Wild rose), Maine (White pine cone and tassel), Missouri (Hawthorn), Montana (Bitterroot, on the “Our Montana” plate), Nebraska (Goldenrod), and South Carolina (Yellow jessamine).
The Cardinal is the state bird of seven different states. Illinois adopted it firstly (1929), followed by Indiana (1933), Ohio (1933), Kentucky (1942), North Carolina (1943), West Virginia (1949), and Virginia (1950). North Carolina and West Virginia have yet to put the bird on a plate. Note all of the above benefit environmental causes except the Indiana plate (two versions) contributing to the Indiana Homeland Security Foundation, which supports public safety. The cardinal is an…interesting choice. Note that the Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois plates above are successive versions in each case from oldest to newest.
The above specialty plates feature the following feathered friends: Ivory-billed woodpecker (Arkansas), Northern bobcat quail (Georgia), Hummingbird (Kentucky & Mississippi), Kentucky Warbler (Kentucky), Quail (Kentucky), Chickadee (Minnesota), Eastern bluebird (Tennessee), and the Grosbeak (West Virginia).
Maryland has depicted the Great blue heron on all three versions of it’s “Treasure the Chesapeake” plate (two shown above), Pennsylvania the Saw-whet owl, and Iowa the pheasant.
Alabama‘s “Forever Wild,” Montana‘s “Bird Habitat,” Nebraska‘s sandhill cranes, and Kentucky‘s butterflies and dragonflies from the “Nature’s Finest” series rounds out the air-borne wildlife.
A standing grizzly adorned the Alaska U.S. Bicentennial base and was reprised 30 years later. Other states have used bears to represent National Parks, zoos, or wildlife in general.
A buffalo (USA’s national animal) graces Kansas‘s 2004 vanity base plate. North Dakota has used it on the last two passenger bases. Montana picked bison for the American Red Cross specialty.
Florida’s “Protect the Panther” and Kentucky‘s Nature’s Finest bobcat have each had two versions, with dissimilar results. Also notice Pennsylvania‘s photo of a tiger versus Montana‘s more traditional graphic.
Alabama is one of several states to issue a plate for wild turkeys; Arizona‘s “Conserving Wildlife” plate is lush with detail; Nevada uses an image of a bighorn sheep to “Support Wildlife,” in Texas you can spot the Texas horned lizard in the wild or on the back of an automobile; and Idaho, Montana, and Nevada have all made efforts to preserve the horse in wild form.
There are three variations of the California “Whale Tail” plate (which benefits the California Coastal Commission) – 1997, 2001, and 2011 respectively. Florida and Massachusetts also have whale tails, while an orca and dolphins leap out of the water in specialties for Washington, Florida, and Mississippi.
Bass (Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas), trout (Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana) and other fish appear on the plates above. Florida, not surprisingly, leads the pack here due to its location and its prevalence of specialty plates.
There’s no denying the State Crustacean (yes, it’s a thing) of Maine: lobster. The state is the largest lobster-producing state in the U.S. and a graphic has appeared on the 1987 base as well as a 2004 specialty. It’s worth noting that lobsters are this color red only after being cooked, but they are more easily recognized by the public this way. Maryland is famous for the Blue crab, and it is located on the that state’s and Virginia‘s specialties benefiting the Chesapeake.
Ducks float on a southern marsh, a fish and a duck inhabit the bottom of an Arizona specialty, a turtle makes a pilgrimage on a beach, and a river otter rests on a bank as the sun sets on these three specialties.
