The Common Loon is 26 to 36 inches tall with red, green, black and white feathers. It lives mainly in lakes, meadows and swamps. It has a song that sounds like crying, wailing, echoing and yodeling. The Common Loon is known for only going ashore for mating and laying its eggs. It also dives deep down into water to find fish.

In 1926 the president of the Federation of Women’s Club started a campaign to choose the goldfinch as the state bird, but it didn’t happen. There were a lot of birds to choose from, and it took many years. The state legislature made the final decision, and the Common Loon became the state bird of Minnesota on March 7, 1961.

   


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The pink and white Lady’s Slipper, or the Showy Slipper, is one to two feet tall with pink, red, and white petals. It grows in open fens, bogs, swamps, and damp woods. The lady slipper is known for its petals which look like the pretty shape of a slipper. The lady slipper is important in the state of Minnesota because it is a favorite decoration on church alters during the summer. The lady slipper became the state flower of Minnesota on February 3rd, 1893, but then was re-adopted on February 19, 1925.

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The Red Pine tree is 20 to 35 meters tall with dark green needle leaves. It grows in northeastern North America. The red pine is used as a Christmas tree. The Red Pine is important to the state of Minnesota because it was once the most important timber pine in the Great Lakes region. The Red Pine became the state tree of Minnesota in 1953.

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The Minnesota flag has a blue background with a gold fringe border. The state seal is in the center. The state seal is round with a gold border with Minnesota written on the bottom. There are 19 gold stars in a white ring inside the gold border. This is a symbol that shows that Minnesota was the 19th state to join the union. The biggest star represents Minnesota. There is also a wreath on the inside of the ring of stars. It shows the state flower, the lady slipper. There are three years sewn into the wreath. The year 1858 is the year Minnesota became a state. The year 1819 is the year that Fort Snelling was built. It was the first U.S. settlement in the northwest. The year 1893 is the year the flag was adopted. In the center of the seal is a picture of a Native American hunting on a horse. In the background of the picture there are some state trees, the red pines. There is also a tree stump with an axe leaning on it. This represents lumbering in Minnesota. There is also a picture of a pioneer farmer plowing the soil. The Minnesota flag was adopted in 1893.

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