Hawk

Hawks are a group of medium-sized diurnal birds of prey of the family

Accipitridae. Hawks are widely distributed and vary greatly in size.
Hawk

The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-

shinned hawks and others. This subfamily are mainly woodland birds
with long tails and high visual acuity. They hunt by dashing suddenly
from a concealed perch.[1]
In the Americas, members of the Buteo group are also called hawks;
this group are called buzzards in other parts of the world. Generally,
buteos have broad wings and sturdy builds. They are relatively larger-
winged, shorter-tailed and fly further distances in open areas than
accipiters. Buteos descend or pounce on their prey rather than
hunting in a fast horizontal pursuit.
The terms accipitrine hawk and buteonine hawk are used to distinguish between
the types in regions where hawk applies to both. The term "true hawk" is
sometimes used for the accipitrine hawks in regions where buzzard is preferred
for the buteonine hawks.

All these groups are members of the Accipitridae family, which includes the
hawks and buzzards as well as kites, harriers and eagles. Some authors use
[2]
"hawk" generally for any small to medium Accipitrid that is not an eagle.
A Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo
The common names of some birds include the term "hawk", reflecting traditional
jamaicensis) on perch
usage rather than taxonomy. For example, some people may call an osprey a "fish
hawk" or a peregrine falcon a "duck hawk". Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Contents Class: Aves
History Order: Accipitriformes
Groups
Accipiter group Family: Accipitridae
Buteo group
Characteristics
Intelligence
Eyesight
Description
Migration
Habitat and distribution
Behaviour
Reproduction
Diet
In popular culture
References
External links
History
Falconry was once called "hawking" and any bird used for falconry could be
referred to as a hawk.[3]

Aristotle listed eleven types of ἱέρακες (hierakes, hawks, singular ἱέραξ hierax):
aisalōn (merlin), asterias, hypotriorchēs, kirkos, leios, perkos, phassophonos,
phrynologos, pternis, spizias, and triorchēs. Pliny numbered sixteen kinds of hawks,
but named only aigithos, epileios, kenchrēïs (kestrel), kybindis, and triorchēs
(buzzard).[4]

Groups

Accipiter group
The accipitrine hawks generally hunt birds as their primary prey. They are also
called "hen-hawks", or "wood-hawks" because of their woodland habitat.

The subfamily Accipitrinae contains Accipiter; it also contains genera Micronisus

(Gabar goshawk), Urotriorchis (long-tailed hawk), and Megatriorchis (Doria's Sharp-shinned hawk

goshawk). Melierax (chanting goshawks) may be included in the subfamily, or given

a subfamily of its own.

Erythrotriorchis (the red and chestnut-shouldered goshawks) is traditionally

included in Accipitrinae, but is possibly a convergent genus from an unrelated group
(see red goshawk taxonomy).

Buteo group
The "Buteo group" includes genera Buteo, Parabuteo, Geranoetus, and most of
[5]
Leucopternis. Members of this group have also been called "hawk-buzzards". Immature Northern goshawk with
fresh meat.
Proposed new genera Morphnarchus, Rupornis, and Pseudastur are formed from
members of Buteo and Leucopternis.[6]

The "Buteogallus group" are also called hawks, with the exception of the solitary eagles. Buteo is the type genus of the subfamily
Buteoninae. Traditionally this subfamily also includes eagles and sea-eagles. Lerner and Mindell (2005) proposed placing those into
separate subfamilies (Aquilinae, Haliaaetinae), leaving only the buteonine hawks/buzzards in Buteoninae.

Characteristics
Screaming Hawk
Intelligence
0:00
In February 2005, Canadianornithologist Louis Lefebvre announced a
Scream of a hawk.
method of measuring avian "IQ" by measuring their innovation in
feeding habits.[7] Based on this scale, hawks were named among the
Problems playing this file? See media help.
most intelligent birds.

Eyesight
Hawks have four types of colour receptors in the eye. These give hawks the ability to perceive not only the visible range but also the
ultraviolet part of the spectrum. Other adaptations allow for the detection of polarised light or magnetic fields. This is due to the large
number of photoreceptors in the retina (up to 1,000,000 per square mm in Buteo, compared to 200,000 in humans), a high number of
nerves connecting these receptors to the brain, and an indentedfovea, which magnifies the central portion of thevisual field.[8][9]

Description
Hawks are known to have sharp vision and to be able hunters.[10] The female
is generally larger than the male.

Migration
Like most birds, the hawk migrates in the autumn and the spring. Different
types of hawks choose separate times in each season to migrate. The autumn
migrating season begins in August and ends mid-December. It has been
studied that there are longer migration distances than others. The long-distance
travelers tend to begin in early autumn while the short distance travelers start A Hawk in flight
much later. Thus, the longer the distance the earlier the bird begins its journey.
There have been studies on the speed and efficiency of the bird's migration that
show that it is better for a hawk to arrive at its destination as early as possible.[11] This is because the first bird that arrives has the
first pick of mates, living area, food, and survival necessities. The more fat a bird has when it starts its migration, the better chance it
has of making the trip safely. Kerlinger states that studies have shown that a bird has more body fat when it begins its migration,
[12]
before it leaves, than when has arrived at its destination.

One of the most important parts of the hawk's migration is the flight direction because the direction or path the bird chooses to take
could greatly affect its migration. The force of wind is a variable because it could either throw the bird off course or push it in the
right direction, depending on the direction of the wind.[12] To ensure a safer journey, a hawk tries to avoid any large bodies of water
.[13]
in the spring and fall by detouring around a lake or flying along a border

Hawkwatching is a citizen scientist activity that monitors hawk migration and provides data to the scientific community
.

Habitat and distribution

The red-tailed hawk is the most common hawk in North America. Past observations have indicated that while hawks can easily adapt
to any surrounding, hawks prefer a habitat that is open. Hawks usually like to live in places like deserts and fields, likely as it is easier
to find prey. As they are able to live anywhere, they can be found in mountainous plains and tropical, moist areas. Hawks have been
found in places such asCentral America, the West Indies, and Jamaica.

Behaviour
Starting in the hawk's early life, it is fed by its parents until it leaves the nest.[10] The young hawk, while still in its fledgling phase,
will leave its nest as early as six weeks old. Once the bird is older it begins to hunt. The hawk kills its prey with its claws as opposed
to other predator birds, such as the falcon. The falcon uses its claws to catch the prey but kills the small animal with its mouth instead
of its claws.[14] The hawk's preferred time for hunting is usually just before nightfall when daylight lessens.[11] Although the hawk is
known for being a violent predator, some are gentle and quiet.[14] When it flies, the hawk flaps its wings rapidly, and then uses that
.[13]
momentum to glide smoothly and gracefully through the air

The idea of flocking during migration has been closely analyzed, and it has been concluded that it is a commutative tool used by birds
and other animals to increase survival. It has become clear to observers that a hawk traveling in a flock have a greater chance of
survival than if it travelled alone. Another word used in the United States that has the same meaning as "flock," particularly in terms
of groups of hawks, is "kettle."[12]:215–16
Reproduction
Hawks are known for their unique mating season. The method the hawk uses to reproduce is different from most. The male and
female will fly together in a circular motion. Once they reach a certain height, the male will dive toward the female and then they will
raise back to the height again. The two birds will repeat this until finally the male latches onto the female and they begin to free-fall
down to earth. In one year, a female hawk will lay about five eggs. Both the male and the female will cater and take care of the eggs
for about a month until they hatch.[10] The male and the female create their nest before the mating season and improve it together
during the nesting season. The two birds usually make their nest prior to mating. Some species of hawks tend to be monogamous and
[13]
stay with the same mating partner their whole lives.

Diet
A hawk's diet is predictable and includes a variety of smaller animals. Some of these
small animals include snakes, lizards, fish, mice, rabbits, squirrels, birds, and any
other type of small game that is found on the ground.[10] More specifically, a red-
shouldered hawk likes to eat smaller birds like doves and bugs like grasshoppers and
crickets.[13]

In popular culture Play media

Red-tailed hawk removing fur from a
A war hawk, or simply hawk, is a term used in politics for somebody favouring war
. rodent before eating the rodent at
Mission Peak Regional Preserve,
Numerous sporting clubs, such as the Atlanta Hawks and Hawthorn Hawks, use the
California
bird as an emblem.

References
1. Campbell, B., Lack.E (2013) A Dictionary of Birds.p.273
2. Debus, Stephen J. S. (1990).The birds of prey of Australia: a field guide. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
pp. 12, 16, 62. ISBN 0 19 550624 3. Debus writes that the osprey is "a large aquatic hawk, with adaptations for
catching fish by plunge-diving into water"; the elanid kites are "small, gull-like, grey-and-white hawks with black
forewing patches"; and, of the harriers, that the "hawks in this cosmopolitan genus ('circling hawk') are so-called
because of their low harrying flight". But he refers to the "typical or milvine kites" as "large kites", not hawks.
3. Little, William; Fowler, H. W.; Coulson, Jessie; Onions, C. T.; Friedrichsen, G. W. S. (1973) [1944]. "Hawk".The
shorter Oxford English dictionary on historical principles(3 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-861-
294-X. "Any diurnal bird of prey used in Falconry ... InNat. Hist., restricted to a bird of the subfamilyAccipitrinæ ... To
chase or hunt game with a trained hawk; to practise falconry . ... Thei hauke, thei hunt, thei card, thei dice. Latimer
[Hugh 1485? – 1555]"
4. Arnott, W. Geoffrey (2007). "Hierax" (https://books.google.com.au/books?id=EJiBAgAAQBAJ&pg=P
A77). Birds in the
Ancient World from A to Z. Routledge.
5. "Hawk". The Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
6. Remsen, Van (August 2010). "Revise generic boundaries in theButeo group. Proposal (460) to the South American
Classification Committee"(http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCprop460.html). Retrieved 22 June 2014.
7. EurekAlert! Public News List:Bird IQ test takes flight(http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-02/nsae-bit02160
5.php) - Dr. Lefebvre's AAAS presentation - Feeding innovations and forebrain size in birds (Monday , February 21,
2005)Part of the symposium:Mind, Brain and Behavior
8. "Hawks" (http://www.beautyofbirds.com/hawks.htm). beautyofbirds.com. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
9. Kirschbaum, Kari. "Family Accipitridae" (http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Accipitrida
e.html). AnimalDiversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
10. "Red-Tailed Hawk" (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/red-tailed-hawk/)
. National Geographic.
Retrieved 18 October 2012.
11. Heintzelman, Donald S. (1986).The Migration of Hawks. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 40.
12. Kerlinger, Paul (1989). Flight Strategies of Migrating Hawks. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. pp. 57–58,
153.
13. Heitzelman, Donald S. (2004).Hawks & Owls in Eastern North America. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
pp. 96–98.
14. "Hawks-Characteristics and Behaviour"(http://science.jrank.org/pages/3229/Hawks-Characteristics-behavior
.html).
Net Industries. Retrieved 18 October 2012.

External links
Hawks and eagles (Accipitridae)information, videos, photos and sounds at the Internet Bird Collection
"Hawk". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
"Hawk". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 94–95.
"Hawk". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.

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