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Britons Flock to Choose National Bird


A man receives his voting paper from poll clerks in a public launderette being used as a polling station in Oxford, May 7, 2015.
A man receives his voting paper from poll clerks in a public launderette being used as a polling station in Oxford, May 7, 2015.

The general election isn’t the only vote of national importance happening on Thursday. A poll to choose Britain’s national bird will close at midnight and 116,000 people have already cast their ballots.

The United States has the bald eagle; France, the rooster; India, the peacock; Brazil, the rufous-bellied thrush. The United Kingdom, however, has no bird as a national emblem.

Tens of thousands have voted in the online poll for their favorite from a list of 10. The birds on the ballot (in alphabetical order) are: the barn owl, blackbird, blue tit, hen harrier, kingfisher, mute swan, puffin, red kite, robin and wren.

The winner of the pecking order is expected to be named Friday, around the time results from the parliamentary election appear.

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