| Hawk | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitriformes |
The term hawk can be used in several ways:
- In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, the Sharp-shinned Hawk 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) to mean falcons or small to medium-sized members of the Accipitridae—the family which includes the "true hawks" as well as eagles, kites, harriers and buzzards.
- Loosely, to mean almost any bird of prey 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, B. jamaicensis).
In February 2005, the Canadian ornithologist Louis Lefebvre announced a method of measuring avian "IQ" in terms of their innovation in feeding habits.[1] 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 photoreceptors in the retina (up to 1,000,000 per square mm for Buteo, against 200,000 for humans), an exceptional number of nerves connecting these receptors to the brain, and an indented fovea, which magnifies the central portion of the visual field.[2][3]
References [link]
- ^ EurekAlert! Public News List:Bird IQ test takes flight - Dr. Lefebvre's AAAS presentation - Feeding innovations and forebrain size in birds (Monday, February 21, 2005)Part of the symposium: Mind, Brain and Behavior
- ^ "Hawks". Avianweb.com. https://www.avianweb.com/hawks.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
- ^ Kirschbaum, Kari. "Family Accipitridae". AnimalDiversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. https://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Accipitridae.html. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
External links [link]
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Hawks |
- Hawks and Eagles (Accipitridae) information, videos, photos and sounds at the Internet Bird Collection
https://wn.com/Hawk
Hawk (novel)
Hawk is the fourteenth book in Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series, set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. It was published in 2014. Following the trend of the series, it is named after one of the Great Houses, and the personality characteristics associated with that House are integral to its plot.
Plot summary
An assassination attempt against Vlad Taltos, which takes place in his hometown of Adrilankha during a visit to his young son and estranged wife, nearly succeeds. In response to the attempt, Taltos decides that he will no longer run from the Jhereg criminal organization that placed a price on his head, and sets in motion "all sorts of intricate plots and schemes that guess, second-guess and third-guess his adversaries (often incorrectly)".
Noting the protagonist's characteristically unreliable first-person narration, another reviewer notes, "This being Vlad (and Brust), the plan is typically complex and convoluted and really doesn't matter all that much, partly because Vlad doesn't really fill the reader in on everything that’s happening. But if it helps, it involves a Hawk egg, a wand, and a euphonium."
Hawk (nickname)
Hawk or The Hawk is the nickname of:
