Saw a show on Smithsonian channel about the Goshawk. This bird has a name you might misread. But it’s got a stare nobody can misread. It says: “You’re gonna get your ass kicked.”
A sharp stare is a clear prelude to aggression. You don’t have to be a bird to know this.
And you don’t have to come from a tough neighborhood, either. When somebody, anywhere, zeroes in, eyeball to eyeball, you get ready for fight or flight.
Penetrating stares, fights and flights are a big part of this Smithsonian documentary. It’s called, “Goshawk: Soul of the Wind.”
Stop saying “Gosh Hawk.” There’s no “sh” sound in this word.
More about that in a moment. But first, back to the bird’s stare. All raptors have heavy-browed, angry eyes that bore into you. But a Goshawk’s are especially memorable.
They express the naked aggression you see in the eyes of those looking for trouble in taverns, or in territories patrolled by fighter jets.
Goshawks in the documentary were shown weaving through the woods at blistering speed, like Luke Skywalker on one of those speeder bike rockets in “Return of the Jedi.
Wait a second: You know, maybe this bird’s name should be changed to “Skywalker.” Just a thought.
The U.S. Navy has a jet called the T-45 Goshawk. But the bird itself is a much more maneuverable machine. A chase-you-down, rip-you-up machine.
We know what the Goshawk can do. What we might not know is how to pronounce its name. Not “gosh hawk,” as many people say.
It’s “goss….hawk.” This is derived from the Old English “gos,” meaning goose, and “hafoc,” meaning hawk.
“Goose Hawk.” Yeah, you can picture one of these guys getting a fat goose in its sights and locking on.
Maybe its name should change to Goose Hawk. Or, like I said earlier, Skywalker. Either would be an improvement over Goshawk.
See, you just said it wrong again, didn’t you?
Wow, that is one fierce glare on that bird!
Or perhaps, “Gosh, that hawk looks pissed off”. Just a thought. It reminds me of how my Geometry teacher would look at me when I gave a particulary stupid answer to a question. Geometry being Quantum Physics to me at that time. But I digress. Interesting history on the derivation of a name on a fearsome looking predator. Perhaps, it was a Raptor eons ago..
Call it what you will…
That STARE ,Will raise the HAIR on the back of your neck !
oh yea !
smile
Awesome Stuff
Thank You,
-g-
Is this the the Grump Doctrine of Avian Taxonomy?
Sparrow hawk – kestrel; pigeon hawk – Cooper’s hawk; duck hawk – peregrine; now goshawk – goose hawk, cool.
The Air Force is now flying the F-22 Raptor. Given the current attitude of world opinion, I wonder if our leaders understand the irony of the root of that name : Raptor, Latin, noun, thief.
Just curious…