Hawk

Hawk
/hawk/, n. Mil.
a medium-range, mobile U.S. surface-to-air missile system.
[H(oming) A(ll the) W(ay) K(iller)]

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I
Any of many small to medium-sized, diurnal birds of prey, particularly those in the genus Accipiter.

The term is often applied to other birds in the Accipitridae family (including buzzards, harriers, and kites) and sometimes to certain falcons. Hawks usually eat small mammals, reptiles, and insects but occasionally kill birds. There is often no difference in plumage between sexes. Hawks are found on the six major continents. Most nest in trees, but some nest on the ground or on cliffs. True hawks (accipiters) can usually be distinguished in flight by their long tails and short, rounded wings. They are exemplified by the 12-in (30-cm) sharp-shinned hawk (A. striatus), gray above with fine rusty barring below, found throughout much of the New World. See also goshawk, sparrow hawk.

Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Alan Carey
II
(as used in expressions)
Hawks Howard Winchester
Hawking Stephen William

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bird
 any of various small to medium-sized falconiform birds, particularly those in the genus Accipiter, known as the true hawks, and including the goshawks and sparrowhawks. The term hawk is often applied to other birds in the family Accipitridae (such as the kites, buzzards, and harriers) and sometimes is extended to include certain members of the family Falconidae ( falcons and caracaras).

      The great majority of hawks are more useful to humans than they are harmful, but there is still widespread prejudice against them. Occasionally they destroy poultry and smaller birds, but usually they eat small mammals, reptiles, and insects. Hawks have many foraging techniques, but the most typical in their pursuit of prey is raking, or swiftly following the animal's efforts to escape. Once the hawk has secured the prey with its powerful talons, the bird dismembers it with its sharply pointed, strong beak.

      Hawks occur on the six major continents. Most species nest in trees, but some, such as the marsh hawk, nest on the ground in grassy places, and others nest on cliffs. They lay from three to six brown-spotted eggs.

 The so-called true hawks—members of the genus Accipiter (sometimes also called accipiters)—are exemplified by the sharp-shinned hawk (A. striatus), a bird with a 30-cm (12-inch) body length, gray above with fine rusty barring below, found through much of the New World, and by Cooper's hawk (A. cooperii), a North American species similar in appearance but larger—to 50 cm (20 inches) long. A long tail and short, rounded wings give these fast, low-flying birds great maneuverability. They feed on birds and small mammals; of all the New World raptors, Cooper's hawk is most suspect when poultry yards are raided. The goshawk and the sparrowhawk are also members of this group.

      The buteos (buteo), also called buzzard hawks, are broad-winged, wide-tailed, soaring raptors found in the New World, Eurasia, and Africa. The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), the most common North American species, is about 60 cm (24 inches) long, varying in colour but generally brownish above and somewhat lighter below with a rust-coloured tail. This beneficial hunter preys mainly on rodents, but it also catches other small mammals as well as various birds, reptiles (including rattlesnakes and copperheads), amphibians, and even insects. The red-shouldered hawk (B. lineatus), common in eastern and Pacific North America, is a reddish brown bird about 50 cm (20 inches) long, with closely barred underparts.

      The black hawks are two species of short-tailed and exceptionally wide-winged black buteos. The great black hawk, or Brazilian eagle (Buteogallus urubitinga), about 60 cm (24 inches) long, ranges from Mexico to Argentina; the smaller common, or Mexican, black hawk (B. anthracinus) has some white markings and ranges from northern South America into the southwestern United States. Both species feed on frogs, fish, and other aquatic creatures.

      Some other buteos are the following: Harris's, or the bay-winged, hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), a large black bird with inconspicuous brown shoulders and flashing white rump, is found in South America and northward into the southwestern United States. The broad-winged hawk (B. platypterus), a crow-sized hawk, gray-brown with a black-and-white-banded tail, is found in eastern North America, where it migrates in large flocks. Swainson's hawk (B. swainsoni) is a bird of western North America that migrates to Argentina. Two notable rough-legged hawks are the ferruginous hawk (B. regalis)—the largest North American buzzard (up to 63 cm [25 inches] long)—and the rough-legged hawk (B. lagopus) of both the Old and New Worlds.

      The African harrier hawk (Polyboroides typus) and the crane hawk (Geranospiza nigra) of tropical America are medium-sized gray birds resembling the harriers but having short, broad wings.

      The relationship of the Accipitridae and the Falconidae creates some confusion regarding the classification and naming of species, and some names seem—to the layperson, at least—to be used interchangeably. For example, in the United States Circus cyaneus is known as the marsh hawk; the same bird is known in Britain as the hen harrier. Many falcons are known locally as hawks but have other, more widespread common names—e.g., the sparrowhawk, or kestrel; the duck hawk, or peregrine falcon; and the pigeon hawk, or merlin. Another related species, the fish hawk, is better known by the name osprey.

      The unrelated birds called nighthawks (nighthawk) are not falconiforms but caprimulgiforms.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • HAWK — oder HAWK findet Verwendung als Name oder Bezeichnung bei verschiedenen Waffensystemen: BAE Hawk, ein britisches leichtes Kampfflugzeug und Trainer, MIM 23 HAWK, ein mobiles (US amerikanisches) Flugabwehrraketensystem, RQ 4A Global Hawk, eine… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • HAWK — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sommaire 1 Hawk / Hawks 1.1 Cinéma / Télévision …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Hawk — (engl. ‚Habicht‘) oder HAWK steht für: HAWK Fachhochschule Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen, Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst BAE Hawk, ein britisches leichtes Kampfflugzeug und Trainer MIM 23 HAWK, ein mobiles (US amerikanisches)… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Hawk — (h[add]k), n. [OE. hauk (prob. fr. Icel.), havek, AS. hafoc, heafoc; akin to D. havik, OHG. habuh, G. habicht, Icel. haukr, Sw. h[ o]k, Dan. h[ o]g, prob. from the root of E. heave.] (Zo[ o]l.) One of numerous species and genera of rapacious… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hawk HF — en la celebración del centenario de Lancia en Turín en 2006. Exteriormente resulta indistiguible de un Lancia Stratos. Fabricante Hawk Cars …   Wikipedia Español

  • hawk — Ⅰ. hawk [1] ► NOUN 1) a fast flying bird of prey with broad rounded wings and a long tail. 2) any bird used in falconry. 3) a person who advocates an aggressive foreign policy. ► VERB ▪ hunt game with a trained hawk. DERIVATIVES …   English terms dictionary

  • HAWK — HAWK, bird of prey. Two genera of hawk are found in Israel, the Accipiter and the Falco, these being referred to respectively in the Bible as neẓ (AV, JPS = hawk) and taḥmas (AV, JPS = nighthawk ), mentioned among the unclean birds that are… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Hawk — (h[add]k), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Hawked} (h[add]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. {Hawking}.] 1. To catch, or attempt to catch, birds by means of hawks trained for the purpose, and let loose on the prey; to practice falconry. [1913 Webster] A falconer Henry is …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hawk — hawk1 [hôk] n. [ME hauk < OE hafoc, akin to Ger habicht, Pol kobuz, falcon] 1. a) any of various accipitrine birds having short, rounded wings and a long tail and legs, as Cooper s hawk, goshawk, and the harriers b) loosely any of various… …   English World dictionary

  • Hawk — Hawk, v. t. [Akin to D. hauker a hawker, G. h[ o]ken, h[ o]cken, to higgle, to retail, h[ o]ke, h[ o]ker, a higgler, huckster. See {Huckster}.] To offer for sale by outcry in the street; to carry (merchandise) about from place to place for sale;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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