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 ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]