ðə ɹˈoʊdsaɪd hˈɔːk wʌz fˈɔːɹməli dᵻskɹˈaɪbd ɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd sˈɛvənhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi ˈeɪt baɪ ðə dʒˈɜːmən nˈætʃɚɹəlˌɪst jˈoʊhɑːn fɹˈiːdɹɪtʃ dʒˈiːmˈɛlɪn ɪn hɪz ɹᵻvˈaɪzd ænd ɛkspˈændᵻd ᵻdˈɪʃən ʌv kˈɑːɹl lˈɪniːəsᵻz sˈɪstəmə nˈætʃɚɹˌiː.
The roadside hawk was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.