It was so designated on March 16, 1931, by the Arizona State Legislature in House Bill 128.[28][29] The bill specifically designates the subspecies C. b. couesi as the state bird, and refers to the bird as both the "Cactus Wren" and "Coues' Cactus Wren".[3]:1 The subspecies' namesake, Elliot Coues, served as a surgeon at Fort Whipple in Arizona from 1864 until at least 1871, and again in 1880, and was involved in nature surveys of Arizona Territory.[30]