Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Any hawk that preys upon poultry. Also called
chicken-hawk .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun informal Any hawk supposed to prey of
poultry .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word hen-hawk.
Examples
-
The sparrow-hawk, the malicious hen-hawk, and cruel pigeon-hawk, are very common throughout the United States and Europe.
Harper's Young People, February 24, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly Various
-
I spent an hour to-day trying to shoot a hen-hawk that's been hovering about the shack all afternoon.
The Prairie Wife Arthur Stringer 1912
-
I knew that old hen-hawk meant trouble for me -- and the trouble came, all right.
The Prairie Wife Arthur Stringer 1912
-
I have shot a partridge and a hen-hawk and caught eighteen large trout [probably Sebago salmon].
The Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne Stearns, Frank P 1906
-
"It's a gum-game," protested Reeves, agitatedly, "and I ain't goin 'to fight no ostrich nor hen-hawk."
The Skipper and the Skipped Being the Shore Log of Cap'n Aaron Sproul Holman Day 1900
-
Do not swoop down upon the health germs like a hungry hen-hawk on a green gosling, but incline your head gently until your carefully deodorized breath is upon her lips -- there pause, for the essence of enjoyment is in anticipation.
-
As for the farmers, they are so busy raising hogs and prices that their best friends, the birds, get scant attention from them, -- until a hen-hawk takes a chicken!
Our Vanishing Wild Life Its Extermination and Preservation William Temple Hornaday 1895
-
I have shot a partridge and a hen-hawk and caught eighteen large trout [probably Sebago salmon].
The Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne Frank Preston Stearns 1881
-
Of the hen-hawk, he has observed that both male and female take part in incubation.
Birds and Bees, Sharp Eyes and Other Papers John Burroughs 1879
-
In his "Indian-Summer Reverie" we catch a glimpse of the hen-hawk, silently sailing overhead
The Writings of John Burroughs — Volume 05: Pepacton John Burroughs 1879
reesetee commented on the word hen-hawk
A name given in the United States to various species of hawks, especially to the Red-Tailed and Red-Shouldered Hawks.
August 4, 2009