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Although hawks are known for being violent predators, some are gentle and quiet. [citation needed] Hawks fly by flapping their wings rapidly then relying on momentum to glide through the air. [20] Like other birds, they are known to form flocks when migrating, which improves survival rates over traveling alone. Flocks of birds, especially hawks ...
Buteo is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called "buzzards", but "hawk" is used in the New World (Etymology: Buteo is the Latin name of the common buzzard [1]).
Many well-known birds such as hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures are included in this group. The osprey is usually placed in a separate family ( Pandionidae ), as is the secretary bird ( Sagittariidae ), and the New World vultures are also usually now regarded as a separate family or order.
The Accipitriformes (/ æ k ˌ s ɪ p ɪ t r ɪ ˈ f ɔːr m iː z /; from Latin accipiter 'hawk' and formes 'having the form of') are an order of birds that includes most of the diurnal birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, vultures, and kites, but not falcons.
The genus Buteo, known as "hawks" in North America and not to be confused with vultures, has worldwide distribution, but is particularly well represented in North America. The red-tailed hawk, ferruginous hawk , and rarely, the red-shouldered hawk are all examples of species from this genus that are used in falconry today.
Hawks, including the accipitrines, are believed to have vision several times sharper than humans, in part because of the great number of photoreceptor cells in their retinas (up to 1,000,000 per square mm, against 200,000 for humans), a very high number of nerves connecting the receptors to the brain, and an indented fovea, which magnifies the ...
Intermediate in size are the hawks of Santiago Island, on which males weigh an average of 963 g (2.123 lb) while females average 1,295 g (2.855 lb). The largest known are the hawks on Española Island, which are amongst the largest Buteo known anywhere, with males averaging 1,137 g (2.507 lb) and females averaging 1,578 g (3.479 lb). [3]
The tiny hawk is aptly named; males measure 20 cm (7.9 in), about the size of a starling, though females are slightly larger at 26.5 cm (10.5 in).It is one of the smallest true raptors in the world and is one of the smallest Accipiter species, though the little sparrowhawk of Africa is of similar or even smaller size.