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White House Hawk Named 'Lincoln' By New Hampshire Students

WASHINGTON (CBS) -- Their proposal to make the red-tailed hawk the state raptor was denied, but a group of talon-ted New Hampshire students are making a name for themselves and a hawk at the national level.

The White House announced Friday that a hawk that recently made the grounds at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. its home will be named "Lincoln," after the students at Lincoln Akerman School in Hampton Falls.

lincoln hawk students
The Lincoln Akerman students who named the hawk (Photo credit White House)

In March, the students visited the New Hampshire House of Representatives to make the state raptor proposal. But they were rejected, with one legislator making an abortion reference and another saying "we'll be picking a state hot dog next."

But when the White House got its new visitor, they reached out to the Lincoln Akerman students for a name.

"After a spirited debate and multiple rounds of voting, the students of Jim Cutting's fourth-grade class decided on a name befitting a White House raptor," The White House said. "The name recognizes the visionary leadership of our 16th President and the proximity of the Lincoln Memorial to the White House—all with the added bonus of sneaking in a plug for their school."

The hawk even has its own Twitter account - @LincolnTheHawk

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