State symbols of Vermont
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Vermont's state song is "These Green Mountains," composed by Diane Martin and arranged by Rita Buglass Gluck. This song was officially designated as the state song on May 22, 2000. This song replaced "Hail to Vermont!," which was written by Josephine Hovey-Perry and made the state song in 1938. However, Moonlight in Vermont is a cultural, though unofficial, favorite.
The state bird is the hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus). This was adopted in 1941. The bird was only designated after debate in the legislature; though the hermit thrush is found in all of 14 counties and has a distinctive sweet call, it leaves the state during the winter for its yearly southward migration. Many legislators favored the blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) or the crow.
The red clover (Trifolium pratense) was designated as the state flower in 1895. The red clover is often seen in the countryside of Vermont hosting the state insect, the honeybee (Apis mellifera), which was originally introduced from Europe. It was designated in 1978.
Vermont has two official state fish as of 1978: the cold-water fish, the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and the warm-water fish, the walleye (Sander vitreous vitreous).
The state tree is the sugar maple (Acer saccharum), effective in 1949. The sugar maple is the source of maple syrup, Vermont's most famous export.
The Morgan horse became the state mammal in 1961. The Morgan horse is a horse breed originally from Vermont.
The state amphibian, adopted by the legislature in 1997, is the Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens).
Vermont has also designated an official state mineral (talc), pie (apple pie), soil ("Tunbridge Soil Series"), beverage (milk), gem (grossular garnet), and fossil (the beluga skeleton at the University of Vermont's Perkins Geology Museum).