Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!uunet!munnari.oz.au!sirius.ucs.adelaide.edu.au!research!psjmt From: psjmt@research.cc.flinders.oz (James Tizard) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Peregrine over Route 1 in New Brunswick, NJ??? Message-ID: <532@research.cc.flinders.oz> Date: 4 Dec 90 23:27:56 GMT References: <10509@helios.TAMU.EDU> <1990Dec3.164235.14061@newcastle.ac.uk> Distribution: rec.birds,usa Organization: Computing Services, Flinders University, S.A., Australia Lines: 41 In article <1990Dec3.164235.14061@newcastle.ac.uk> J.M.Spencer@newcastle.ac.uk (Jonathan Spencer) writes: > >>Finally, there are lots of things bigger than a peregrine, although >>I can't (without a bird guide) think of what is bigger _and_ more >>like an accipiter or falcon than a hawk as far as its flight >>profile goes. > >"...more like an accipiter of falcon tha a hawk..."? What *is* an >Accipiter if it's not a hawk? > >Jonathan M Spencer In England, and here in Australia too, we don't have 'hawks' as such. 'Hawk' is a lay term for smallish raptors, of which accipiters (goshawks & sparrowhawks) are one genus (family?). In the US however, things are different (suprise!). I haven't got my US field guide with me, but I do recall that there is a whole family of raptors correctly referred to as 'hawks'. One species I remeber seeing in the south was the Red Hawk (???) - a common roadside hawk of about european buzzard size. PS... Australia is a wonderful place for birds in general, & raptors in particular. For instance... The other day on the way to work, at about 8AM, I was waiting at a traffic light in inner suburban Adelaide. Suddenly, a domestic pigeon fell straight down out of the sky, landing in a puff of bloody feathers in the middle of the intersection. The pigeons' nemesis was of course a peregrine - one of a pair that nest regularly about 8 miles from the city centre. A few days later, I saw it or its' mate circling above our suburban garden. More common in the suburbs is the Australian Hobby, which I see about once a week. Other suburban raptors include Brown Goshawk, Collared Sparrowhawk, Black Shouldered Kite, Nankeen Kesterel, and a few miles into the hills, Wedge Tailed Eagle. There is an active eagle eyrie near the aptly name Eagle-on-the-Hill, about 10 miles from the city centre. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- _--_|\ James Tizard / \ Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratories \_.-*._/ Psychology Department v Flinders University of South Australia psjmt@research.cc.flinders.edu.au Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com