pigeon hawk

American  

noun

1. merlin.

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pigeon hawk British  

noun

1. the North American variety of the merlin

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Etymology

Origin of pigeon hawk

An Americanism dating back to 1720–30

Example Sentences

The pigeon hawk bantered the tortoise for a race, but the tortoise declined it, unless he would consent to run several days' journey.

From Algic Researches, Comprising Inquiries Respecting the Mental Characteristics of the North American Indians, Vol. 2 of 2 Indian Tales and Legends by Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe

A pigeon hawk, I regretted to note, had settled among the bushes, and was watching for quarry, making the only fly in the amber of the enchanted spot.

From Birds of the Rockies by Keyser, Leander S. (Leander Sylvester)

These are the turkey vulture, the black vulture, the little rusty-crowned falcon, the pigeon hawk, slate-coloured hawk, red-tailed buzzard, American horned owl, little American owl, and five other species of falcons.

From The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America by Kingston, William Henry Giles

I have seized 22 robins, 1 pigeon hawk, 1 crested log-cock, 4 woodpeckers and 1 grosbeak in one camp, at the Lertonia mine, all being prepared for eating.

From Our Vanishing Wild Life Its Extermination and Preservation by Hornaday, William Temple

A pigeon hawk came prowling by our camp, and the faint piping call of the nuthatches, leading their young through the high trees, was often heard.

From Wake-Robin by Burroughs, John