Utah State Bird: California gull

Scientific Name: Larus californicus

State Bird Description: The California Gull is a medium sized sea gull which has a mostly white body with grey wings, it is slightly smaller than the hearing gull and has a smaller bill. It's the state bird of Utah due to how it was said to help the Mormon settlers in dealing with a plague of Mormon crickets. A monument in Salt Lake City commemorates this event, known as the "Miracle of the Gulls".

Where It's Found: The California Gull is a resident of the Pacific Northwest coast of California but breeds in around the lakes and marshes of western North America from Northwest Territories, Canada south to eastern California and Colorado.

Utah State Bird Dedication: 1955