The St. John’s Red Storm will be welcoming a feathered presence on the sidelines of athletic events this season.

A member of the University School Spirit committee told the Torch Thursday that the winning choice of last semester’s online vote for a new St. John’s mascot was the thunderbird.

A formal announcement is scheduled to take place during Friday’s soccer doubleheader at Belson Stadium.

For a few weeks starting at the end of April, Red Storm fans were able to vote for one of six mascot choices: a dog, bear, thunderbird, thunderhorse, superhero and thunderbolt.

Another online vote to give the mascot a name is being planned to take place between Sept. 21 and 25.

An open tryout for the mascot’s costume-bearer will follow.

The thunderbird will be the University’s first mascot in nearly 10 years. In 2000, St. John’s stopped using the combo of red horses, Thunder and Lightning, as the faces of University athletics.