The Yellowhammer is 10-14 inches tall with gray and yellow feathers.  It lives in woodlands, deserts, and even suburbs. It has a high-pitched song.  The Yellowhammer is known for the yellow feathers on its face and chest.  The Yellowhammer is important in the state of Alabama because the Civil War Soldiers were called the Yellowhammers. They colored their uniforms with the yellow juice of hickory bark. The Yellowhammer became the state bird of Alabama on September 6, 1927.


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The camellia is 3-17 centimeters tall with red, white, or pink petals.  It first grew in eastern and southern Asia. Then it was brought to Alabama. Camellia plants grow very slowly, but they can live for hundreds of years.  The camellia is important to the state of Alabama because its colors match the red and white colors on the state flag.   

The longleaf pine tree is 150 feet tall with evergreen leaves. It grows in sandy soils. The wood of the longleaf pine is known for making poles, lumber, flooring, and pulpwood. The longleaf pine is important in the state of Alabama because the longleaf pine has the longest needles of any Native American pine.  The longleaf pine needles grow 8 to 18 inches long. The longleaf pine became the state tree of Alabama in 1949.

The Alabama flag has a white background with a red cross.  The words “Spirit of Courage” appear on the flag. These word means the people of Alabama think it’s important to be brave.  The cross on the flag reminds people of the soldiers from other states who carried the battle flag of the Confederacy during the Civil War.  This symbol is also called a saltire or the Cross of Saint Andrew. The Alabama state flag was adopted in 1895.