Flag of Louisiana

What the flag looks like

A blue field with a white mother pelican tearing at her breast to feed three chicks in a nest, with three red drops of blood, above a white ribbon reading UNION JUSTICE CONFIDENCE.

What it means

The "pelican in her piety", feeding her young with her own blood, is an old Christian symbol of self-sacrifice, here standing for the state caring for its people.

How to remember it

Louisiana is the pelican flag: a white mother bird feeding three chicks on blue, with three drops of red blood.

Fun facts

• The drops of blood had disappeared from official versions over the years; a high-school student noticed, and they were restored in 2010.
• The brown pelican is the state bird, and Louisiana's nickname is "The Pelican State".

Louisiana at a glance

Nickname

The Pelican State

Statehood

1812

Capital

Baton Rouge

Region

West South Central

Population

4.7 million

Area

135,659 km²

Flag adopted

2010