Birds Guide

Hawks
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Accipitriformes   Family: Accipitridae   Subfamily: Accipitrinae

The term hawk refers to birds of prey in any of three senses:

• Strictly, to mean any of the species in the bird sub-family Accipitrinae in the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis, and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, the Sharp-shinned Hawk and others. They are mainly woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch. They usually have long tails and high visual acuity.

• More generally, to mean small to medium-sized birds that are members of the Accipitridae, the family which includes the true hawks (Accipiters) and also eagles, kites, harriers, buzzards, and Old World vultures.

• Loosely, to mean almost any bird of prey.

The common names of birds in various parts of the world often use hawk loosely. For example, in North America, the Buteos are often called "hawks".

In February 2005 the Canadian scientist Dr 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 this scale.

Hawks are believed to have vision as good as 20/2, about eight times more acute than humans with good eyesight. This is because of many photoreceptors in the retina (Up to 1,000,000 per square mm, against 200,000 for humans), a very high number of nerves connecting the receptors to the brain, a second set of eye muscles not found in other animals, and an indented fovea which magnifies the central part of the visual field.

Species list

This list is in taxonomic order to show the relationships between species.

• Subfamily Accipitrinae
  • Genus Accipiter
    • Goshawk, A. gentilis
      Sparrowhawk, A. nisus
      Grey-bellied Goshawk, A. poliogaster
      Crested Goshawk, A. trivirgatus
      Sulawesi Goshawk, A. griseiceps
      Red-chested Goshawk, A. toussenelii
      African Goshawk, A. tachiro
      Chinese Goshawk, A. soloensis
      Frances' Goshawk, A. francesii
      Spot-tailed Goshawk, A. trinotatus
      Grey Goshawk, A. novaehollandiae
      Brown Goshawk, A. fasciatus
      Black-mantled Goshawk, A. melanochlamys
      Pied Goshawk, A. albogularis
      Fiji Goshawk, A. rufitorques
      White-bellied Goshawk, A. haplochrous
      Moluccan Goshawk, A. henicogrammus
      Grey-headed Goshawk, A. poliocephalus
      New Britain Goshawk, A. princeps
      Black Goshawk, A. melanoleucus
      Henst's Goshawk, A. henstii
      Meyer's Goshawk, A. meyerianus
      Chestnut-flanked Sparrowhawk, A. castanilius
      Nicobar Sparrowhawk, A. butleri
      Levant Sparrowhawk, A. brevipes
      Slaty-mantled Sparrowhawk, A. luteoschistaceus
      Imitator Sparrowhawk, A. imitator
      Red-thighed Sparrowhawk, A. erythropus
      Little Sparrowhawk, A. minullus
      Japanese Sparrowhawk, A. gularis
      Small Sparrowhawk, A. nanus
      Rufous-necked Sparrowhawk, A. erythrauchen
      Collared Sparrowhawk, A. cirrocephalus
      New Britain Sparrowhawk, A. brachyurus
      Vinous-breasted Sparrowhawk, A. rhodogaster
      Madagascar Sparrowhawk, A. madagascariensis
      Ovampo Sparrowhawk, A. ovampensis
      Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk, A. rufiventris
      Shikra, A. badius
      Tiny Hawk, A. superciliosus
      Semicollared Hawk, A. collaris
      Sharp-shinned Hawk, A. striatus
      White-breasted Hawk, A. chionogaster
      Plain-breasted Hawk, A. ventralis
      Rufous-thighed Hawk, A. erythronemius
      Cooper's Hawk, A. cooperii
      Gundlach's Hawk, A. gundlachi
      Bicoloured Hawk, A. bicolor
      Besra, A. virgatus
  • Genus Micronisus
    • Gabar Goshawk, M. gabar
  • Genus Melierax
    • Dark Chanting Goshawk, M. metabates
      Eastern Chanting Goshawk, M. poliopterus
      Pale Chanting Goshawk, M. canorus
  • Genus Urotriorchis
    • Long-tailed Hawk, U. macrourus
  • Genus Erythrotriorchis
    • Red Goshawk, E. radiatus
      Chestnut-shouldered Goshawk, E. buergersi
  • Genus Megatriorchis

Hawks and humans

• Hawks are sometimes used in falconry, a sport in which trained hawks, eagles or falcons, are used to pursue and catch small game.
• In the US, hawks are sometimes shot for sport or by ranchers who believe the birds may depredate livestock. This makes hawk conservation an issue in some areas. In other parts of the world, most hawk species are protected by law

External links

• Hawk videos on the Internet Bird Collection