Tag Archives: Hawk

Puzzler #7 (New and Improved): Rename that Hawk

Puzzlers were meant to be fun first and a challenge second.  I realized that all of that decoding to get to the answer in the original Puzzler #7 – A Hawk by Any Other Name… may have discouraged some.  So, here is a modified, more user friendly version of puzzler #7 with no decoding.  Instead, I split the post into 2 pages with the answers in ungarbled English on page 2.  So, without further ado, I present the new and improved puzzler #7.

In the table below there are some ‘old’ historical bird names for North American raptors that are no longer in common use and which you probably won’t find in modern bird books except perhaps as a historical aside.

In case you are not a bird nut, raptors include hawks, falcons, eagles, vultures and the like.  You may have heard of some of these ‘old’ names and know what they refer to.  I probably would have got 3 maybe 4 out of 10 had I had to solve this myself.

OLD NAME
Marsh Hawk
Pigeon Hawk
Sparrow Hawk or Sparrowhawk
Chicken Hawk or Chickenhawk
Grouse Hawk
Goose Hawk
Duck Hawk
Fish Hawk
Squirrel Hawk or Squirrelhawk
Starling Hawk