Front page of today's Seattle Times: The bird that the Seahawks are using for a mascot (calling it an Augur hawk).......the real common name is Augur buzzar. Now this is a name commonly used in Europe and Africa for Buteos........buzzards are hawks. But here in the New World, the term buzzard seems to have more of a connotation for vultures. I wonder how long will it take for our opponents (aka: "vulture food") to begin creating cheers focused around the vultures!

Eric Kowalczyk
Seattle



Subject: Augur "hawk"


http://www.kenyabirds.org.uk/buzz-a.htm

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/01/21/100loc_a1seahawk001.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzard




In the New World
Buzzard can mean:
A vulture, particularly the American Black Vulture and Turkey Vulture, or as a general term for vultures and condors.
In parts of the United States where they are considered pest, particularly in rural areas, a derogatory term for certain birds of prey, such as the Chickenhawk (a common colloquial name referring to both the Red-tailed Hawk and the Cooper's Hawk), or the Duck hawk (known elsewhere as the Peregrine Falcon). In the U.S., the term "buzzard" is never used to refer to birds of prey, like hawks, eagles, falcons, and owls, outside of this context.
Rarely, a derogatory term for any large bird that happens to be a scavenger, such as a raven or albatross (in other words, any large bird that is neither predatory nor flightless).
The Old World and New World uses are almost antonyms.