A push for Canada to have a national bird is taking flight.
The Canadian Raptor Conservancy has collected a few thousand signatures on its online petition for the government to give the country a national bird.
Conservancy director James Cowan says his group has so far received about 20 suggestions, with the red-tailed hawk soaring above its competitors at a whopping 85 per cent.
The Canada goose is second, tied with the loon at about three or four per cent each.
Mr. Cowan says the national bird shouldn't be a provincial bird such as the loon, which is Ontario's bird, or the snowy owl, which is Quebec's bird.
The group is looking at getting 200,000 signatures before taking the petition to Parliament.
The petition can be found online at www.canadianraptorconservancy.com