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Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica.
The subfamily Accipitrinae includes , , sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This subfamily are mainly woodland birds with short broad wings, long tails, and high visual acuity. They hunt by dashing suddenly from a concealed perch.Campbell, B., Lack.E (2013) A Dictionary of Birds. p.273
In America, members of the Buteo group are also called hawks, though birds of this group are called in other parts of the world. Generally, buteos have broad wings and sturdy builds. They are relatively larger-winged and shorter-tailed than accipiters, and fly further distances in open areas. Buteos descend or pounce on their prey rather than engaging in fast, horizontal pursuit.
The terms accipitrine hawk and buteonine hawk are used to distinguish between the types in regions where hawk applies to both. The term "true hawk" is sometimes used for the accipitrine hawks in regions where buzzard is preferred for the buteonine hawks.
All these groups are members of the family Accipitridae, which includes hawks and buzzards as well as kites, harriers, and . To confuse things further, some authors use "hawk" generally for any small to medium Accipitrid that is not an eagle. (1990). 9780195506242, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195506242 Debus writes that the osprey is "a large aquatic hawk, with adaptations for catching fish by plunge-diving into water"; the elanid kites are "small, gull-like, grey-and-white hawks with black forewing patches"; and, of the harriers, that the "hawks in this cosmopolitan genus ('circling hawk') are so-called because of their low harrying flight". But he refers to the "typical or milvine kites" as "large kites", not hawks.
The common names of some birds include the term "hawk", reflecting traditional usage rather than taxonomy. For example, some people may call an osprey a "fish hawk" or a peregrine falcon a "duck hawk".
Aristotle listed eleven types of ἱέρακες ( hierakes, hawks; singular ἱέραξ, hierax): aisalōn (merlin), asterias, hypotriorchēs, kirkos, leios, perkos, phassophonos, phrynologos, pternis, spizias, and triorchēs. Pliny numbered sixteen kinds of hawks, but named only aigithos, epileios, kenchrēïs (kestrel), kybindis, and triorchēs (buzzard). (2025). 9781134556267, Routledge. ISBN 9781134556267
The subfamily Accipitrinae contains the genus Accipiter as well as the genus Micronisus (Gabar goshawk), Urotriorchis (long-tailed hawk), and Megatriorchis (Doria's goshawk). Melierax (chanting goshawk) may be included in the subfamily or given a subfamily of its own.
Erythrotriorchis (red- and chestnut-shouldered goshawk) is traditionally included in Accipitridae, but is possibly a convergent genus from an unrelated group (see red goshawk taxonomy).
The proposed new genera Morphnarchus, Rupornis, and Pseudastur would be formed from members of Buteo and Leucopternis.
Members of the " Buteogallus group" are also called hawks, with the exception of solitary eagle species. Buteo is the type genus of the subfamily Buteoninae. This subfamily traditionally includes eagles and sea-eagles, but Lerner and Mindell (2005) proposed placing them into separate the subfamilies Aquilinae and Haliaaetinae. This would leave only the buteonine hawks/buzzards in Buteoninae.
The hawk is very intelligent towards humans and other hawks.
There are a variety of factors impacting the strategy and success of a hawk's migration. Kerlinger states that a bird has more body fat when it begins its migration than when it arrives at its destination. Thus, the more fat a bird has when it begins its migration, the better its chances of making the trip safely. Flight path is another important factor in migration because a bird's route can greatly affect the conditions it encounters during its journey. For example, wind direction and speed can either throw the bird off course or push it in the right direction. Due to the relative variability of air conditions over large bodies of water and the resulting impact on safety, hawks tend to avoid any large bodies of water while migrating by detouring around lakes or flying along coasts.
Hawkwatching is a citizen scientist activity that monitors hawk migration and provides data to the scientific community.
Past observations have indicated that, while hawks can easily adapt to most environments, they prefer open habitats such as deserts and fields, likely because it is easier to spot prey. As they are able to live anywhere, they can also be found in mountainous plains and tropical, moist areas such as Central America, the West Indies, and Jamaica.
Hawks fly by flapping their wings rapidly then relying on momentum to glide through the air. Like other birds, they are known to form flocks when migrating, which improves Life rates over traveling alone. Flocks of birds, especially hawks, are sometimes called "kettles" in the United States.
Some species of hawk are monogamous and have one partner their whole lives. The male and female of a mating pair build their nest before mating season then improve it throughout nesting season. They usually do this before mating.
Hawks have a striking mating ritual. First, a male and a female fly together in a circular motion. Once they reach a certain height, the male dives toward the female before ascending back to that height. The two birds repeat this until the male latches onto the female, and they begin to free-fall towards the ground.
In one year, a female hawk will lay about five eggs. Both the male and the female guard and care for the Bird egg for about a month until they hatch.
Numerous sporting clubs, such as the Atlanta Hawks, the Hawthorn Hawks, and the Malmö Redhawks, use the bird as an emblem. The sports teams of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio officially became known as the Miami RedHawks in 1997 after changing the name from Redskins. The sports teams of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia use the Hawk as an emblem for sports teams as well for students and graduates. The University of Iowa uses the name Iowa Hawkeyes for their sports teams. Although the name "Hawkeyes" is not derived from a hawk, they have Herky the Hawk as their mascot and a hawk head as their team logo.
Hawks are strongly associated with Guru Gobind Singh in the Sikhs community. He is believed to have kept a white Northern goshawk. As a result, the Northern Goshawk was made the official state bird of Punjab, India.
In Korea, from the early Joseon period, hawks and other birds of prey were associated with a branch of government known as the Imperial Censorate, suggesting the qualities of courage and a keen sense of justice. Artists such as Chŏng Hongnae specialised in portraying hawks for royalty, and his Hawk at Sunrise is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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