The posting of the American Kestrel taking a sparrow in a barn was
delightful (unless you are a fan of house sparrows).

But for accuracy, readers might wish to know the origin of the previous
common name for this little falcon, "Sparrow Hawk"  In fact, the term had  no
direct reference to the bird's sparrow prey whatsoever. The name was merely  one
of a plethora of ornithological mistakes by early American naturalists and
others who erroneously assigned European or English common names to new bird
species encountered in the New World.

The American Kestrel was understood to be a small hawk, and it was confused
over here with the English Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, a small  accipiter
similar to the North American Sharp-shinned Hawk. From the beginning,  the bird
in question should have been called a kestrel, as the American species,  Falco
sparverius, is very similar, albeit slightly smaller, than  the common
European Kestrel, F. tinnunculus . But there  were no field guides in the 17th or
18th centuries, so a number of  ornithological misnomers took hold.

The term "buzzard" is another unfortunate error. We all know that the
"buzzard" is not really a vulture. But what is the ornithologically  correct usage
(at least in Europe) of the term? In the UK, a "buzzard" has  always
specifically meant a Buteo hawk, usually the Common Buzzard,  Buteo buteo. Therefore,
our buteos should have been the Red-tailed  Buzzard, the Rough-legged Buzzard,
the Red-shouldered Buzzard, etc. This more  proper nomenclature has been
helpfully extended to the buteo species of Africa  and elsewhere. Unfortunately, we
are stuck with the less descriptive and generic  "hawk" for our authentic
buzzard species.

And lastly, there was the "Duck Hawk," a most unfortunate common  designation
of the peregrine falcon. That's been fixed, and we've fixed the  "marsh hawk"
problem and call the species now with the more proper and  historical English
designation as a harrier.

-John A. Blakeman

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