HAWK, any diurnal bird of prey not an
eagle or a vulture. As the general characteristics
of this group have been given under
, and the use of falcons in sport
under , the general term “hawk” will be
treated from the point of view of economic
relations. Hawks are found in all parts of the
world and number about 450 species. All are
of moderate size, and some Old World species
are no larger than a robin. All seek their prey
by daylight and are endowed with great swiftness
of flight, immense clutching power in their
talons, hooked and toothed beaks adapted to
cutting and tearing flesh and remarkable keenness
of vision. (See ). All are exclusively carnivorous and rarely taste anything they have not themselves killed. Hawks show great boldness in attacking quarry, seeking it as a rule by patiently watching from an elevated perch until a prospective victim appears, then pouncing on it; but some search for food in suitable places, flying to and fro in the hope of catching sight of a moving animal, or of scaring one from its hiding-place. When it has been caught by a rapid swoop it is borne away in the talons to be eaten at leisure, or carried to the nestlings.
Most hawks are dressed plainly in browns
and whites, with darker markings, although
some have bright feathers in their plumage, but
none has in either sex ornamental crests or
plumes. The sexes always differ in size, the
female being the larger, often conspicuously so; and the plumage of the young varies much from that of the adults. They nest in forest trees, on rock-ledges or on the ground, and usually lay four or five whitish eggs, heavily blotched with brown, red and lavender. A few, as, for example, the duck-hawk (peregrine), and the fish-hawk (q.v.) (osprey), repair and use the same nest many years in succession, but most species get a new mate and make a new nest every season. The voice of most hawks consists of loud screams, and none sings in any proper sense of the word. Hawks, as a rule, are solitary birds, but in the annual migrations (which affect most species) they sometimes travel in considerable flocks. Few are tameable, yet the osprey and the sparrow-hawk are inclined to accept artificial nesting accommodations near houses when made welcome.
North America has hawks of all kinds, including about 34 species north of Mexico, representing the families Falconidæ, Buteonidæ and Pandionidæ. Taking these in systematic order and passing by the southern kites elsewhere described (see ), we come to the three species that may properly be termed “hen-hawks,” since to these three alone may commonly be attributed the loss of poultry suffered on farms and in villages.
True Hen-Hawks.— All are small, fierce
and powerful, addicted to the capture of birds, wild and tame, although many wild mice and other small mammals, and a few frogs, lizards and insects, are also eaten. The first of them is the sharpshin (Accipiter velox), a summer resident of all North and Central America, and retiring in winter only to the Southern States. It is known as bird-hawk, chicken-hawk, bullet-hawk and sparrow-hawk. Birds constitute nine-tenths of its fare, speaking generally; and it is able to strike down and carry off fully-grown chickens, quails or grouse, as well as small
birds, whose only safety is to make a quick
dive into some thick bush. The sharpshin may
be known by its small size (length 11 to 13.S
inches, wing-spread about 15 inches); long tail, square at the end; slender legs and feet and very long toes. In color it is uniformly bluish-gray or slate-colored, dark on the crown; under parts white, heavily barred with reddish-brown, except the throat, which is narrowly streaked; wing-quills blackish; tail with five blackish crossbars and narrowly lipped with white; feet yellow. Immature young, brownish above, streaked white below.
Cooper's hawk; or the blue darter (Accipiter
cooperi), is closely similar in color and
proportions, but is nearly a third larger, has
stouter feet, and the tail is rounded, not square, at the end, and is indistinctly barred. This species does not go far north but from southern Canada southward is one of the most abundant of American hawks, and like the sharpshin it retreats in winter only from the more northern border of its range. It is known to farmers and sportsmen as chicken-hawk, quail-hawk, swift-hawk and darter.