A hawk is a small bird of prey. It hunts and eats other animals. Hawks lived in the Holy Land and appear in the Bible.
Most Bible references are probably about the sparrow hawk (Accipiter nisus). This hawk is a little bigger than a kestrel. It has a grayish-brown back and a white belly with black and brown stripes. Its wings are broad and rounded, and it has long, curved claws called talons. These help it catch prey while flying.
Hawks can turn quickly in the air. Their long tails help them change direction while chasing small birds like warblers. They hunt during the day and catch their prey in the air. Unlike kestrels, they do not catch prey on the ground. Hawks have sharp eyesight and can see clearly from far away. Their eyes are on the sides of their heads. Hawks usually build their nests high in tall trees. The same pair of hawks often returns to the same nest every year.
In this context, prey means the animals that hawks catch and eat.
In ancient Egypt, people honored hawks. They sometimes embalmed (preserved) the bodies of sparrow hawks. They saw the hawk as a symbol of godly power. The Egyptian god Horus was often shown with the head of a hawk.
In Israelite culture, the hawk was considered unclean and not to be eaten (Leviticus 11:16; Deuteronomy 14:15). Hawks did not live in Israel all year. They stopped there while flying from the north to the south during certain times of the year. This southward migration is mentioned in Job 39:26. Isaiah 34:11 may refer to a hawk, but the word is unclear in that verse. Some translations use “hawk,” while others say “cormorant.”