What is the state bird of Utah?

The state bird of Utah is the California Gull, the scientific name of which is Larus californicus. It was selected as such by legislature in 1955 and written into the Utah Code.

The California Gull is a pearly blue bird about 2 feet in length. The story behind the selection of this gull as the state bird is that in 1848, the crops in Utah were being devoured by crickets, as told by Pioneer, Utah's online library. Try as they might, farmers were unable to stop the crickets from attacking the crops. However, these gulls swooped in and ate the crickets, which salvaged the crops and, in effect, saved the Salt Lake City townsfolk from starvation.