hawk, name generally applied to the smaller members of the Accipitridae, a heterogeneous family of diurnal birds of prey, such as the eagle, the kite, the Old World vulture, and the secretary bird. Hawks belong to the same order as the falcon, the New World vulture, and the osprey. Hawks have keen sight, sharply hooked bills, and powerful feet with curved talons. Strong and graceful in flight, they are distinguished from falcons by their broader, rounded wings. Typical of the hunting hawks, or accipiters, is the goshawk found in northern temperate regions, which feeds on small mammals and on other birds, riding its prey to the ground. Other destructive American accipiters are the chicken, or Cooper's, hawk, Accipiter cooperi, and the small (robin-sized) sharp-shinned hawk, A. fuscus, which is known to feed on at least 50 species of harmless or beneficial birds. The males of this group are usually smaller than the females. Buteos (called buzzards by the English) are a diverse and cosmopolitan group of medium to large hawks and eagles with shorter legs and tails and larger wings than the accipiters. They include beneficial hawks such as the American red-tailed, red-shouldered, broad-winged, rough-legged, and Swainson's hawks, which feed on harmful rodents and reptiles. Except for the harriers, or marsh hawks (owl-faced birds of open land and marshes), which are ground nesters, hawks build their nests of sticks and twigs in trees. All hawks regurgitate the indigestible portions of their prey as pellets. Included in this group is the serpent eagle of Africa, which somersaults in its flight. The name hawk is applied also to many falcons and the totally unrelated nighthawk (a goatsucker), certain members of the gull and jaeger families, and the hawk swallow, a European swift. True hawks are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Falconiformes, family Accipitridae.

fish hawk: see osprey.

duck hawk: see falcon.

Kitty Hawk or Kittyhawk, part of an offshore sandbar on Cape Hatteras, NE N.C., E of Albemarle Sound. Nearby is Kill Devil Hill, where the Wright brothers experimented successfully (1900-1903) with gliders and airplanes. Wright Brothers National Memorial (see National Parks and Monuments, table), commemorating their first successful flight, is there.

Black Hawk War, conflict between the Sac and Fox and the United States in 1832. After the War of 1812, whites settling the Illinois country exerted pressure on the Native Americans. A treaty of 1804, which had no real claim to validity, provided for removal of the Sac and Fox W of the Mississippi. A Native American leader, Black Hawk (1767-1838), who was born in the Sac village near the site of present Rock Island, Ill., and who had fought for the British in the War of 1812, denounced the treaty and resisted removal. Years of intermittent skirmishing followed. In 1831 the whites used force to impose a new treaty that compelled the Native Americans to retire from their lands. In Apr., 1832, Black Hawk, with some 400 braves and their families, returned to Illinois. Not receiving the support he expected, he admitted defeat, but when one of the peaceful emissaries he sent was shot down in cold blood, the outraged Black Hawk successfully attacked a larger white force, then retired into what is now Wisconsin. A large force of volunteers was gathered under Gen. Henry Atkinson. The last battle of the war took place on the Bad Axe River, where Black Hawk was attacked by these troops and a Sioux war party. Trapped, he displayed a white flag, but this was ignored and almost all of his band, including women and children, were wiped out. Black Hawk himself escaped, surrendered to the Winnebago, was turned over for imprisonment, and was released in 1833 to return to the pitiful remnant of his tribe and his family in Iowa. Lorado Taft's colossal statue (1911) near Oregon, Ill., has come to be known as the Black Hawk Monument.

Small hawk (usually genus Accipiter, family Accipitridae), found in Africa, Europe, and Asia. Sparrow hawks are gray above, barred-white below, and sometimes have white tail bars. They eat insects and small birds and mammals. The American kestrel is also called sparrow hawk.

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or pigeon hawk

Small blue-gray falcon (Falco columbarius, family Falconidae), with a narrowly white-banded tail, found at high latitudes in Canada, the western U.S. south to Colorado, the British Isles, Scandinavia, and Iceland. Most migrate to just south of the breeding range, but some go as far as northern South America. The merlin inhabits wet, open country or conifer and birch woods. It usually lays its eggs on the ground in bushes, but may occupy an old rook or magpie nest in a tree. An aggressive hunter, it was once much used in falconry.

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Magician and wise man in Arthurian legend. In Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of England, Merlin was an adviser to King Arthur, with magical powers that recalled his Celtic origins. Later narratives made him a prophet of the grail and gave him credit for the idea of the Round Table. In Sir Thomas Malory's Morte Darthur he brought Arthur to the throne and served as his mentor throughout his reign. His downfall was linked to his infatuation for an enchantress, who imprisoned him after learning the magic arts from him.

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or sphinx moth

Any moth of the lepidopteran family Sphingidae. Found worldwide, these stout-bodied moths have long, narrow forewings and shorter hind wings, with wingspans ranging from 2 to 8 in. (5–20 cm). Many species pollinate flowers while sucking nectar; the proboscis of some species is up to 13 in. (32.5 cm) long. Some hawk moths migrate. The larvae, which are smooth and have a dorsal “horn,” are called hornworms; larvae of two North American species—the tobacco, or southern, hornworm, and the tomato, or northern, hornworm—attack tomato, tobacco, and potato crops.

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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. Seealso goshawk, sparrow hawk.

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or fish hawk

Species (Pandion haliaetus) of long-winged hawk found along seacoasts and large interior waterways. Ospreys are about 26 in. (65 cm) long and brown above and white below, with some white on the head. An osprey flies over the water, hovers above its prey, and then plunges feet first, seizing the fish in its long, curved talons. Ospreys breed on all continents except South America, where they live only in winter. They usually nest, singly or in colonies, high in trees or on cliffs. Bioaccumulation of pesticides caused populations to dwindle in the 20th century, but they are now recovering.

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or duck hawk

Falcon species (Falco peregrinus) found worldwide but rare today because of bioaccumulation of pesticides. Peregrines are 13–19 in. (33–48 cm) long and gray above, with black-barred whitish underparts. They fly high and dive at tremendous speed (up to 175 mph, or 280 kph—the greatest speeds attained by any bird), striking with clenched talons and killing by impact. They usually nest in a scrape on a high cliff ledge near water, where bird prey is plentiful. Breeding programs have reintroduced the species into the wild and introduced it into urban areas, where it finds a clifflike habitat among skyscrapers and preys chiefly on the rock dove (see pigeon). Despite the programs' success, the species remains vulnerable.

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