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The term hawk can be used in several ways:



The common names of birds in various parts of the world often use hawk in the second sense. For example, the Osprey or "fish hawk"; or, in North America, the various Buteo species (e.g., the Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk

The Red-tailed Hawk is a medium-sized bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "Chickenhawk ," though it rarely preys on chickens....
, B. jamaicensis).

In February 2005, the Canadian
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 ornithologist Louis Lefebvre announced a method of measuring avian "IQ" in terms of their innovation in feeding habits.






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Encyclopedia


The term hawk can be used in several ways:

  • In strict usage in Europe
    Europe

    Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
     and Asia
    Asia

    Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
    , to mean any of the species
    Species

    In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
     in the subfamily Accipitrinae
    Accipitrinae

    The Accipitrinae is the Family of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks, including all members of Accipiter and the closely related Genus Melierax, Urotriorchis, Erythrotriorchis and Megatriorchis....
    , which comprises the genera
    Genus

    A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
     Accipiter
    Accipiter

    The genus Accipiter is a group of Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, many of which are named as goshawks and sparrowhawks.These birds are slender with short broad rounded wings and a long tail which helps them manoeuvre in flight....
    , Micronisus, Melierax
    Melierax

    Melierax is a genus of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.It contains the following species:* Gabar Goshawk * Dark Chanting Goshawk * Pale Chanting Goshawk ...
    , Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter
    Accipiter

    The genus Accipiter is a group of Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, many of which are named as goshawks and sparrowhawks.These birds are slender with short broad rounded wings and a long tail which helps them manoeuvre in flight....
     genus includes goshawk
    Goshawk

    The Goshawk , Accipiter gentilis, is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes other diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier s....
    s, sparrowhawk
    Sparrowhawk

    The Eurasian Sparrowhawk is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which includes many other diurnal Bird of preys such as eagles, buzzards, harrier s and other sparrowhawks....
    s , the Sharp-shinned Hawk
    Sharp-shinned Hawk

    The Sharp-shinned Hawk is a small hawk. In fact, "sharp-shins", or "Sharpies" , are the smallest to reside in USA and Canada, though some Neotropical species are smaller ....
     and others. These are mainly woodland birds with long tails and high visual acuity, hunting by sudden dashes from a concealed perch.
  • More generally (especially in North America
    North America

    North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
    ) to mean falcon
    Falcon

    A falcon is any species of bird of prey in the genus Falco. The word comes from their Latin name falco, related to Latin falx because of the shape of these birds' wings....
    s or small to medium-sized members of the Accipitridae
    Accipitridae

    The Accipitridae is one of the two major family within the order Accipitriformes . Many well-known birds, such as hawks, eagles, kite , harrier and Old World vultures are included in this group....
     – the family which includes the "true hawks" (Accipiter
    Accipiter

    The genus Accipiter is a group of Bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, many of which are named as goshawks and sparrowhawks.These birds are slender with short broad rounded wings and a long tail which helps them manoeuvre in flight....
    s) as well as eagle
    Eagle

    Eagles are large bird of prey which are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several Genus which are not necessarily closely related to each other....
    s, kite
    Kite (bird)

    Kites are Bird of preys with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mostly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey....
    s, harrier
    Harrier (bird)

    A harrier is any of several species of Diurnal animal bird of prey which fly low over meadows and marshes and hunt or harry small animals or birds ....
    s and buzzard
    Buzzard

    A buzzard is one of several large birds, but there are a number of meanings as detailed below....
    s.
  • Loosely, to mean almost any bird of prey
    Bird of prey

    Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. Their claws and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
     outside of the order Strigiformes (owls).


The common names of birds in various parts of the world often use hawk in the second sense. For example, the Osprey or "fish hawk"; or, in North America, the various Buteo species (e.g., the Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk

The Red-tailed Hawk is a medium-sized bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "Chickenhawk ," though it rarely preys on chickens....
, B. jamaicensis).

In February 2005, the Canadian
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 ornithologist Louis Lefebvre announced a method of measuring avian "IQ" in terms of their innovation in feeding habits. Hawks were named among the most intelligent birds based on his scale.

Hawks are widely reputed to have visual acuity several times that of a normal human being. This is due to the many photoreceptor
Photoreceptor

A photoreceptor, or photoreceptor cell, is a specialized type of neuron found in the eye's retina that is capable of phototransduction....
s in the retina
Retina

The vertebrate retina is a light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera....
 (up to 1,000,000 per square mm for Buteo, against 200,000 for humans), an exceptional number of nerves
Neuron

Neurons are responsive cell in the nervous system that process and transmit information by electrochemical Signal . They are the core components of the brain, the vertebrate spinal cord, the invertebrate ventral nerve cord, and the peripheral nerves....
 connecting these receptors to the brain
Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as cnidarian and echinoderm have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all....
, and an indented fovea
Fovea

The fovea, also known as the fovea centralis, is a part of the eye, located in the center of the macula region of the retina.The fovea is responsible for sharp central Visual perception , which is necessary in humans for reading , watching television or movies, driving, and any activity where visual detail is of primary importance....
, which magnifies the central portion of the visual field
Visual field

The term 'visual field' is sometimes used as a synonym to field of view, though they do not designate the same thing. The visual field is the "spatial array of visual sensations available to observation in introspection psychological experiments" , while field of view "refers to the physical objects and light sources in the external world...
.