How do they get the name chicken hawks?

Answer 1

There are three species of hawks that are colloquially called 'Chicken hawks', the Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, and the Sharp-shinned Hawk. Although it is more a misnomer since Red-tailed hawks, who rarely eat chickens, tend to stick with small to medium sized birds, reptiles, and up to 90% of their diet composed of small rodents instead of the larger fowl. Cooper's hawks specialize in eating birds but, again, more the medium sized birds they can catch on the wing and kill with their feet and talons. The Accipiter hawks' wings and body are shaped for fast, low, agile flying in and out of tree limbs chasing their small flying prey. It is even a less fitting name for Sharp-shinned hawks, they eat small birds, rodents and insects mostly. Juvenile hawks might be seen eating chickens due to their undeveloped hunting skills, taking an easy prey, but that would be a rare occurrence. So it is unclear how these three species have become so often known as Chicken hawks. It may be since they will all be opportunistic predators and the chicken yard would provide easy pickings when chicks are out in the open and easily picked off.