Knowing a hawk from a handsaw, pt 1

Introducing the re-designed cover of J.A. Baker's The Peregrine. Now featuring 100% more . . . peregrine!

It seems the old cover showed a bird that was nothing like a peregrine. In fact, it was a red-tailed hawk. Pity, because I was fond of that swooping bird. Not so our hawk-eyed readers, one of whom suggested that having a red-tailed hawk on the cover of a book about peregrines was like featuring a dog on the cover of a book about cats.

The print shown on the new cover is by Dame Elisabeth Frink, whose "Birds of Prey Series"—which can be viewed on-line at the Tate's site—has a lovely naive quality.

We nearly made a similar error with the recently released Goshawk by T.H. White. Luckily we were saved by someone infinitely more knowledgeable about such things than anyone on our staff. He suggested a painting by the Swedish artist Bruno Liljefors. And it turned out quite handsome.

Comments

[m.thew]

BH: Actually, in NYC we have peregrines nesting on our buildings and bridges, red-tails in our parks, kestrels in 19th century cornices, and ospreys and northern harriers in Jamaica Bay. Last winter, a goshawk spent a couple of weeks in Brooklyn. Sharp-shinned and cooper's hawks, as well as merlins, are rare, but not unheard of, and this time of year, the south-bound migration brings red-shouldered, broad-winged, and rough-legged hawks passing overhead.

[Brian Hadd]

New York knowing about hawks is a stretch of the imagination too far for anyone to make. Relying on others far more knowledgeable than yourself is wise even in New York. I doubt Part 2 in this series is going to be very explicative about hawks. I suggest you give handsaws a try even though New York knowing about handsaws is even more comic an idea unless the handsaw is littered or costs an arm and a leg.