AMERICAN EAGLE/PUSINESS Tall EY eXXx) Ye mockingbird may get the boot in. says. the Sunshine Sate. A group of ork Battle of the Birds EXPRESS AIRLINES Pinko hea Gree “The scrub jay is in really serious danger of disappearing” fans wants to replace the current state Spemodinghed. wah ll home: ‘grown variety. One of Florida's original inhabitants, the intelligent and friendly scrub jay has nested in the Sunshine State since the peninsula emerged from the sea. ‘The dusty, bluefeathered bird Tooks much ike is ager cousin the bie ay,minus the white crest It lives andl breeds in the forests of senuboskcand pine that inspired its ‘name. In fet, it never leaves its home sate “Isa symbol of Florida," ys Lauralee “Thompson, of the Florida Audubon Soci- «ex "Out of 400 species that live and breed here, tis the only one that is endemic to the state.” So why is the mockingbird, a mimic found throughout the nation, the state Died? The mockingbird is so common it’s been proclaimed the state bird of Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and ‘Texas, Many Floridians ate hoping to drop the mockingbird and elevate the scrub jay to state bird sats by sending a petition to Florida's legislanure. “L would like to see things that are uniquely Florida preserved,” Thompson latitudes—may/june About 80 percent of Florida's origi nal scrub lands have been destroyed, Wiping out a huge number of scrub jas. Studies estimate that by 1998 the popu- lation had declined 80 percent over the years of human development. At that me there were thought to be 4,000 ‘mating pairs. Experts fear the popula- tion has since been eut in half. Thomp- son says that naming the serub jay Flori- da’s state bird would promote awareness of the bird and its habitat but would not necessarily guarantee protection. Central Florida is home to most of the scrub jays. The birds, which often eat from your hand and hop onto your shoulder, can be spotted at Merritt Island ‘National Wildlife Refuge, Ocala National Forest and along the Lake Wales Ridge. — Sarah Sekula ‘To ada your name toa pation to make the scrub jay Florida's state bind, visit wua:phoenix.com or write t: Howard B. Futch, 325 Fifth Ave, Suite 102, Indiat- antic, HL. 32903 oF Patsy Ann Kurth, Fori- da State Senator, 2174 Harris Ave. NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905, 2000