Question: What symbol of Florida commonly seen in souvenirs is rarely seen in nature in the state?
Answer: The American flamingo. The flamingo’s iconic status originates more from marketing than from a thriving wild population. Few Floridians have ever seen a flamingo in the wild, but chance encounters with the pink wading birds may help solve a century-old controversy: Are flamingos native to the state? Flamingos are likely native to Florida, according to the American Ornithological Society’s February 2018 edition of The Condor.
