I figured out one scenario of how this one observer sees Goshawks with
patterns and in sizes that don't corespond to current field guides and how
he frequently observes them in locations where they have rarely if ever been
seen before. As a kid his dad, older sibling or other mentor thought hawks
were the coolest of things and was really excited every time he or she saw
one and would exclaim "Oh my gosh! a hawk! For this child every hawk became
a "Gosh! hawk". Once he learned how and where and when to spot them, seeing
hawks became a common occurance, but to him they would always be Gosh-hawks.
Though he found one hawk in the bird books by that name, which he realized
was normally spelled "Goshawk" he noticed that all of the other "Goshawks"
were mislabeled.

Out of respect for the excitement that hawks bring so many people (in spite
of being relative frequently seen by those with an eye for them) maybe we
should call all hawks "Gosh-hawks" or "Goshawks". We could then distinguish
between some of the different forms of different sizes and shapes by
refering to them as "Little square-tailed Goshawk" and "Crow-size
Rounded-tailed Goshawk" and the
"Oh-my-gosh-what-a-really-big-goshawk-with-a-light-eye-stripe-and-a-dark-che
ek Goshawk".

Then of course there might be the "Fat Red-tailed Goshawk", the "Peregrine
Goshawk", the "Marsh Goshawk" and the "Sparrow Goshawk" among others.

-Stewart

Stewart Wechsler
Ecological Consulting
West Seattle
206 932-7225
ecostewart at quidnunc.net

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and how to enhance habitat for the maximum diversity
of plants and animals
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