Chickenhawks

Uncharacteristically, Lynn Sislo of Poet and Peasant has posted an article on birds. In a brief note entitled “A Notable Bird,” she links to two sites on the Cooper's Hawk, which she correctly characterizes as “an often maligned species.” Ironically and unfortunately, both of the linked articles refer to the provincial-and-now-archaic alternative name of “chicken hawk,” a pejorative (and ecologically innacurate) name once applied to any of the North American hawks.

In the last century, the term "chicken hawk" evolved into a second meaning (i.e., an advocate of an aggressive policy on foreign relations, being especially applied to one who advocates military intervention but who has himself never served on active military duty).

Ben Tripp has published a Bird Lover’s Guide to Chickenhawks, and the New Hampshire Gazette maintains The Chickenhawk Database. And finally, but by no means least, be sure to check out The Chickenhawk Boogie by Pat Dawson, which was posted by the New Hampshire Gazette on 10/12/02.